Things I wish I knew as an international student

Hello and welcome back to another post!

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sam and I talk about all the things that are relevant to me from college to hobbies.

In this post, I wanted to talk about things I wish I knew as an international student.

I came to the United States when I was 15, about to start my freshman year of high school. Going to a high school in a different country was overwhelming. Even though I am an extroverted person, I was still really shy and found it difficult to talk to strangers.

I went to a private christian school in Central VA since 9th grade until I graduated. What made me chose to come to the U.S? I thought it would be fun to be in a different country and to have a unique experience as a student. I am really grateful for my parents for believing in me and supporting me to follow my dreams.

Soon after high school, I wanted to attend college here and eventually chose Penn State. What drew me the most about Penn State was the size of the campus, various student life experiences, and the sheer number of majors and programs the school provided with.

When I first got to Penn State, I had no idea that the school consisted of diverse groups of students from various backgrounds. Because of the sheer number of students they had in Penn State, I had no idea where to start and how my college experience will be like as an international student.

And with that, here are some things I wish I knew as an international student:

1. You don't always have to hang out with people from your home country.

Meeting people from a similar background is certainly helpful. However, if your goal is to improve your English and make diverse group of friends, you don't have to hang out with someone from similar background. I mean, what's the point of hanging out with them if you're goal is to improve on your English skills?

I initially hung out with fellow Koreans at Penn State but over time, I started to slowly not hang out with them, not because I hated them but because of my own interests. I was more interested in making friends from diverse backgrounds and only hanging out with Korean students slightly blurred that purpose.

2. Join any clubs that YOU want, not because of others

Some people tend to join any clubs that their friends are involved in, or clubs that are for people from your home country. If that is what you want, then go for it. However, follow your interests and see if there are any clubs that would interest you and that help you make more friends. College clubs are the start of making connections.

For me, I am involved in one of many acapella groups here at Penn State and a student association for my major. I wanted to have not only a memorable college experience but also make connections with those in my major. I really love being in those clubs and it helped me to make friends with diverse group of people. I am really grateful that I met some of the most amazing people from that group and maintain friendship with them.

3. Don't ever think you can make friends without ANY efforts.

I realized that some people find it difficult to make friends because they are anxious about talking to new people. They think people would come up to you even if you sit quietly doing nothing. You have to make at least an effort to talk to new people. I was at your seat. I've been there and all the times I did nothing, it didn't work well. College is all about reaching out and stepping out of your comfort zone. Doing nothing is the WORST thing you can do when you meet new people.

As someone who once sat on your seat, I can tell you that these are the lessons I learned coming to college as an international student. Even though I went to high school in the US, college was still a new environment for me. It was overwhelming but I knew I had to make an effort to survive on my own and I can tell you that college life in the US is different from that of your home country.

Being in a new environment is tough. However, if you know your purpose and your goals, you will be able to survive college life in the US and you can be successful in making new friends and being in a new environment.

Thank you so much for reading!