“It’s scary, but you’re gonna love it!” By Siddhi Sharma Have you ever had to travel miles across the world just to pursue your dream? No one spoke a word to me about ‘realities’ before I moved out, but now that I’m in university, ‘scary’ is the only word I can use. I kept telling myself, “This is going to be easy” and, “You’ll manage,” but boy was I wrong! Coming from a traditional town in India, I was raised in a patriarchal and
conservative society. People there thrive on collectivism rather than independence. Since I was schooled in a Western curriculum, I wanted to learn to be self-
(and because NZ is beautiful!). I think however, that my overzealous attitude clouded reality for me and I failed to accept that I didn’t know the first thing
sufficient, away from societal pressures.
about becoming independent. In the first couple of months of university, I realised I was a clueless duckling and very spoilt! A part of me screamed, wanting to go back home. Another part of me wanted to see if I could get past the gut-wrenching homesickness.
I was so eager to get out of India that I even had a list of things I wanted to do and accomplish in New Zealand. I chose AUT because I knew I would be at the heart of the best opportunities
