Roar writer Siddhi Jain reflects on her two year long journey studying at King’s College London.
It is both daunting and exhilarating to study abroad. At first, you are weaving stories about the kind of life you will create for yourself there; then it smacks you like a ton of bricks. You will be forced to leave your comfort zone. You will experience a tinge of grief and anxiety in your body when you leave your home, no matter how independent and freedom-loving you are. And let me assure you: it is normal.Â
In my first year, I was finding a way to keep it together: doing the daily duties, staying on top of assignments, establishing a social life, among other things. It was a little tricky for me to stay consistent with my course, Digital Culture, because it was entirely new to me. Imagine learning about Hypertexts, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Social Media Protests, and so much more in your first year!
It was undoubtedly interesting, but its newness brought some uncertainty as well. This course requires a lot of research work, so writing essays was one of the most difficult tasks for me. My anxieties and concerns were uncontrollable because I had never written an essay before. Seeing my peers have at least a passing knowledge of it has also made me wonder if I was even eligible for this degree. Nevertheless, with each essay I wrote, I only became better.
Now comes the twist: just as I was getting accustomed to everything there, the circumstance of Covid-19 robbed me of my second-year experience. We were taught remotely, and truth be told, it was not something we wanted. It was exhausting to devote so many hours of my day sitting in front of the screen. It was difficult to communicate too, since gaining prompt responses from instructors via email was not easy. Even still, I believe it gave me an opportunity to work harder.
In my second year, I developed a sense of patience within, which drove me to become more disciplined and calm. The modules were the nicest part of it; there were a number of them which centred on new media that were vastly different from my first year. Despite juggling multiple things at once, I excelled in most of my assignments. So, I believe that the instructional pattern was well-maintained. Even remotely, the majority of us gained hands-on knowledge of programming and management techniques in the digital domain of organisations with ease.
I will begin my third-year of study in September. Fortunately, we will not be engaging in a remote learning experience. This time, when I return, I plan to do more exploring and less worrying. I strongly recall spending far too much time in previous years attempting so focus on my academics that I had forgotten about cultivating a vibrant social life for myself. Yes, I had a lot of fun, but not nearly as much as I could have had if I had just slowed down. So this time, when I go back, I will make the most out of my last year. After all, my college years will not come again!
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