Krishnaprasad SURESH

Student of PSG College of Technology, India
Exchange to The University of South Australia, Australia

For all individuals who wish to make a choice, take a chance and change things in their life, there comes a point when they begin to question things, understand reality and mark a before and an after in their life. My time came during my exchange in Adelaide, Australia.

Staying in the suburbs of Adelaide, the beauty of the countryside enthralled me. I was lucky to have been there through three seasons. I arrived in winter, stayed throughout autumn and left in summer. Cycling every day to the University through the shortcuts in the forests, stopping by to listen to the birds, clicking pictures of the trees whose leaves changed colours through seasons, I do not know if there can be a feeling more beautiful and satisfying than that.

The people around me made my stay there beautiful and memorable. That was the first time for me in a multi-cultural place. Working with international students, talking to neighbours, learning and sharing our ways of life, understanding each other, those were the things I cherished the most.

Nothing is more fun than hanging out and travelling with friends. Every city we travelled to, be it the ever busy Sydney, the cool Gold Coast, the calm Canberra or my very own green Adelaide, taught us a thing or two about their way of life. Meeting our old family friends settled in these places was an added delight.

I admit that back home, surrounded by family and friends, I had always been in my comfort zone without having the need to evaluate my life. Arriving in Australia, the thing I realised the most was what it means to be independent. Life here taught me that we can truly grow only if we’re willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable while trying something new, thus moving out of our comfort zone.

My stay there helped me set my goals and priorities in life. From my interactions with students belonging to various backgrounds and communities, I gained a better understanding of my own preferences. This gave me a clear insight about what I had been doing till then and what I wished to do from then on. If there is one thing I realised from all of this, it is that if you want something you have never had, you’ve got to do something you’ve never done.

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