As soon as they set their foot in, the youth go through various phases of adjustment problems.[break] In the initial stages, they face daunting task of coping with the strains and stresses.
Bishal Rai, 20, a student, hailing from Dharan, has been caught with a dual challenge - to managing time for work and study. He left his hometown to pursue his higher education five years ago and ever since, he has been struggling to cope with this part-time job and study.
“I can’t give my full time to studies because of my work and I also can’t focus much on my work because of my studies,” he says.
Bishal faithfully puts aside every single dime from his part-time job to pay his education and says, “I don’t ask money from home and I cover all my expenses through my part time job.”
Be that as it may, Bishal is slowly learning to cope with the challenges and finds himself doing something productive. “The best part about living on your own is that you get to be independent and also get the opportunity to explore and learn a lot,” he says.
He further says that it was his parents who first made the choice to send him to the capital. “I have been living in a rented apartment and it’s definitely nothing like living in the comfort of my own home. There were times when I wanted to flee home.”
In the initial stage, many students face core adaptation issues, identity crisis and even have feelings of rejection.
Sandhya Pradhan, 23, a student, shares similar experiences as experienced by Bishal in her journey to the capital. She said she faced with the constant challenges of daily life and difficulty in dealing with the new set of people and friends when she first arrived in the capital some four years ago.
“The more I got drifted from my hometown, the more I missed the familiarity of my home,” she shares.
She further explained that attending college was also another challenge for her as the expectations were quite different. “Coming from a small town like Palpa, it wasn’t easy for me to understand the modern way of life in the capital,” she says.
Sandhya complains that she didn’t find it comfortable to talk with the teachers in the way other students do. “Being in a new place, I used to be uncertain about how to deal with everyday situations as I couldn’t understand what is expected of me.”
“Moreover”, she continues, “My family and friends are far away and emotional support is lacking.”
She, however, acknowledges that though initially she was flushed with the excitement at the thought of moving into a new place, it started wearing off with the passage of time.
“The excitement turned into frustrations and anxiety as I had to struggle really hard to adjust to the new surroundings.”
For some, however, life away from home is a cake-walk. And their experience is something different.
“I feel privileged to have been able to study in a private college in the capital,” shares Sapana Gurung, 25, a student, who is originally from Biratnagar. She further explains that she gets financial support from her parents so she doesn’t need to worry about working part-time right now.
“I am getting a lot of exposure here and have also made a bunch of good friends,” she says grinning from ear to ear. “Though I miss my hometown very much, it is exciting to experience fast-paced life in the capital.”
Gurung further explains, “At first, the sudden change of environment was difficult to handle but as time passed by I started to overcome that problem and became familiar with my new environment and gradually found it easier to adjust to new lifestyles and culture.”
She further explains that change is just a phase of life and with time you gradually get used to it and learn to accept it. “There is also a sense of really benefiting from this experience.”
For some it’s hard to adjust in a totally new environment while some embrace the challenge and make the most of what they have. “I have learned that we need to get out of our comfort zone and learn to accept things,” says Gurung. After all, it is only by mustering the courage to break free that we get to learn and experience.”
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