Chika

We Stayed Alive, More than Staying Strong.

Life gives us a lot of options. For some of us it does not give us that many options even if it seems so. Being an international student in the US has its ups and downs, I use this lingo in every sense of the word. There are ups when you find friends or acquaintances of like minds, it feels goods. People from similar cultures and those who understand what you are going through can be a breath of fresh air, literally. I had come here in 2016 to study for a master’s degree, I ended studying for 2. Funny how that sounds, it is not funny because I ended up in debt and not with my dream job. Funny but extremely sad. As 2020 March came along, the pandemic had other plans for us international students, I never thought that such an unexpected situation would affect the world the way it did. Being someone from the persevering culture, I persevered while encouraging others like me to keep the faith and hope for some good news. Most of us were stranded, from not knowing how to take the next step to being stuck in one place unable to move, and when I mean stuck, I mean stuck. No travelling, no work, no money, no shelter, no food, etc. most of all, no human connection because we could not even go home to family.