Embracing independence: Navigating exchange alone

By Hannah-Safiyya Awan, York University, Toronto, Canada

When it came time for my exchange year, I found myself in a unique position. Unlike many of my classmates from the International Management course, who were heading off in pairs, I was flying solo to Toronto. It was both thrilling and a little daunting—a mix of nerves and excitement as I prepared to embrace this opportunity alone.

I have lived in Manchester my whole life and have always been surrounded by family or familiar settings, which is one of the key reasons I chose to go on exchange. I was ready to push myself out of my comfort zone and be independent, as I believe that you can’t grow by staying in the same place, whether that’s physically or mentally. Travelling, exercising my capabilities and seeing the world truly through my own experiences and my own journey were all things I wanted from this exchange, and in retrospect, it was exactly what I needed and even better than I expected it to be.

If you find yourself in the same position, even when applying for an exchange, it can be easy to overthink and underestimate your ability to cope without home comforts and familiar faces. Though the independence you experience and the chance to do something completely different is what makes exchange so rewarding.

Naturally, I was nervous about going to Canada, and the whole flight, I thought this could be the worst decision or the best decision I’ve made. Once getting there, I set up my room, walked around campus and checked out some areas. But the first two weeks were challenging as it hit me that I was on a different continent alone. I initially found some connections through family friends that lived in Toronto and had their numbers to check up on me and once classes started I saw the best in the situation and started talking to people.

From there, I started to make friends as I would speak to most people in my classes and my accent drew people to speak to me as a lot of them were excited that I had come from England, and they were all so friendly and were recommending things to do or where to go and after only a couple of weeks, making plans with me. A key part was meeting other people who were on exchange from Australia, France, Switzerland etc and most of them were on exchange alone too. We met through classes and an exchange introduction ran by the exchange university and we automatically connected as we were all going through the same experience and we made plans to see things together such as sports games, museums, events and would go out in groups to explore the city or travel. I learnt a lot about their different cultures but also connected through our similarities and joint experience.

Going to society events introduced me to even more people, mostly Canadian, who I kept in touch with and met up with throughout the year. They were all hospitable and kindly took care of me, especially during the colder months, and they showed me around the city or the areas where they lived. It pushed me to make sure to always have plans , so I knew I was making the most of my time and I always had something to look foward to. Although I was in a new place, this feeling brought my energy and excitement back to life and I was able to learn to about Canada, different cultures, people and places and about myself as I could do so much more that I thought I could in making these new friends, making plans, taking care of myself and participating regularly in class. I even managed to meet with other UoM students on exchange who were on a different course and exchange university.

Most importantly, this pushed me to do things independently; at first, it was just visiting the nearby mall alone, but I’d also made a list and found things that I wanted to do, and I just did it or booked it without the worry I’d be doing it by myself. I went to my first concert alone as I had always wanted to see Drake; I started going to some of the sports games alone as I enjoyed them so much and If I had found a new place or cafe I wanted to see then I would invite the friends I had made or go myself – I enjoyed both and appreciated my own company.

I stayed in touch with my family and friends and would speak to them regularly which prevented me from feeling homesick, but I could see this as my journey and made the most of it in every way, giving updates to my family of all the things I was doing. My communication skills improved as well as my ability to navigate around completely new settings and a different way of life, I learnt to manage challenges on my own, speak to new people and wash away my fears. It really showed me possibilities within myself and in my life as I was doing things I never thought I could.

Building a network and keeping in touch with people really helped, I met with those family friends and spent Thanksgiving and Ramadan with them, so I didn’t feel lonely and knew I had people around me so I felt safe (I’d recommend getting Life360 or Find my Friends too so your family can know where you are). My siblings and some family visited me, and I showed them around; my sister and I even went to New York together, and I travelled to America with my mum. Sharing these experiences with them was so valuable and memorable, and it was a truly unique opportunity that we will all remember.

Reflecting on the year, I developed as a person in the best way, improving on and creating new skills, making friends from around the world and building confidence in myself. By overcoming my worries and fully embracing this experience, I had the best year of my life so far!