No One Really Cares About You, They Never Do
Devika Lalitha–INA KL-YES to USA YP 23/24
A reality check of an exchange student that no one ever talks about.
I’m not “the exchange student,” at least, people never look at me like I am an exchange student. I blend in easily, and I never get a weird glance because I’m not pale enough to be in this country.
If you wonder where I am hosted, I live in one of the most diverse states in the US — Maryland. And if you think living in diversity as an exchange student is a good thing, well, for some part it is. Living in diversity helps me connect with various cultures. I hear two different languages at the same time in the hallway; I see a variety of skin colours and backgrounds in one class. I also see how people celebrate each other’s culture and how they are really appreciative towards each other. I visited a German festival, ate Spanish food that my friend brought to our club, celebrated Guru Nanak Gurpurab with my friend, and experienced more international festivals and cultural exchanges than I could have ever expected.
But, of course, there are always two sides to a coin, and so is my exchange life. Part of the struggle that I found here is how people never really care where you come from. As an exchange student, my work to socialise and be the ‘ambassador’ is doubled. People will never know that you are a scholarship awardee exchange student who travelled 15,618 km by herself unless you tell them that you are an exchange student. So, you are not interesting enough for people to talk to unless you make it work. And that’s how I flip my situation.
I prepared myself to be asked and approached people when they saw me looking different. But no! You have to be the one who starts everything. You have to start the conversation; you have to tell people that you are an exchange student; you have to tell them that you are new in this environment or they would never know. Of course, as a person who hates small talk and struggles to open up to people, it is a huge challenge for me to make a new friend and get to know more people. But I won’t spend my blood, sweat, and tears to sit alone and hope people would care enough to notice that I am ‘different.’ I started to talk to people and smile more. As time goes by, I don’t even realise that I am getting better at small talk. Meeting new people no longer makes me feel awkward and tired; in fact, it makes me happy and excited. And that’s how I’m adapting to my environment. Changing my mindset and throwing myself into learning more and making the best out of my exchange life. Because, in the end, no one really cares about you. They never do.
