Empowered Explorer: Managing Life and Self-Care Abroad

Author: Vidhi Narang

Editors: Zihan Yang, Navya Tyagi Singh

Layout Designer: Julianna Angela Constantino Santos

New country, new school, new people.

As someone who had never been away from family, I was sent to live miles away from the comfort of my home. Initially, my excitement overpowered my nervousness. Living alone, having the freedom to manage my time, and making my own decisions: I was thrilled to embrace independence and self-reliance.

I came to Singapore as a grumpy teenager and transformed into a bold individual who values integrity and honesty. The fresh environment around me served as a passage of self-discovery and I was exhilarated to embrace it. All we can do is hope and at the end of the day, we still have to face what we are presented with. It does sound very depressing, annoying, lame, and exhausting. But, once it ends, you get this feeling of accomplishment, of being more than what you ever were. Before this, there is a multitude of emotions one may experience; it could be this overwhelming feeling of uncertainty, homesickness, or even this visceral, agonising fear of not being able to escape what you can’t handle. But, isn’t that what everything is about? Understanding and finding your limits, your passion, and your sense of self.

Someone told me, “Our mental capacity is like a block of wood. There is only so much it can take.” Let that block of wood break, let yourself go through the worst, and make mistakes, but do not lose yourself in the process, do not forget who you are. Just because people around you describe you as something, does not obligate you to be that something. The spectrum of emotions is a truly beautiful thing. Its impermanence and instability make life vibrant and draining all at once. What is more important is finding comfort; not in other people but in yourself. Emotions are energies in motion. There is no need to control them, rather, a need to experience each one of them. It has to pass, it will pass if you want it to or not. But, in the end, you will be left with this wholesome version of yourself and that is what you need to hold on to.