“I was floating, trying to find my place”: How Diya, an international student, found her footing in Canada

When Diya Drabu flew from India to Canada in early 2022, she wasn’t just crossing continents. She was crossing into an unknown version of herself — one shaped by solitude, cultural dissonance, and eventual self-discovery.

As an international student at the University of Waterloo, Diya’s experience was far removed from the picture-perfect posts often seen online. Behind her academic success was a young woman learning how to build home from scratch.“This sharing,” she explained, “would be a reflection for anyone thinking about studying abroad or wondering what it really feels like, as an international student.”Now wrapping up her third year in the Honours Arts programme with co-op — majoring in Sexualities, Relationships, and Families with a Counselling Specialization, while also minoring in Psychology — Diya has emerged as not just a student, but a community leader, mentor, and storyteller.

Her path, however, was not laid out in certainty.

Choosing purpose over prestige

Diya recalled that her desire to study abroad wasn’t rooted in status or rankings. It had been seeded back in Grade 11 during conversations with her parents — driven more by a desire to immerse herself in diverse cultural spaces and to learn in a way that reflected her own values.She was looking, she said, for a programme rooted in “humanity, relationships, and how we experience our social worlds.”

When they came across the SRF programme at Waterloo, it felt like something rare — interdisciplinary, inclusive, and deeply human. It wasn’t just academically sound; it also offered a space where she could bring her Indian cultural perspective into meaningful dialogue.

Arrival, and the silence that followed

When she arrived in Canada, the temperature was freezing — and so, at times, was the silence. The pandemic had only recently loosened its grip on global routines.

Diya remembers feeling an overwhelming mix of emotions: excitement, nervousness, gratitude — and then, a creeping sense of disconnection.She said the first few weeks were “definitely heavy.” There were new systems to understand — public transit, academic logistics, finding buildings across campus. There was no guidebook to teach her how to unpack her life in a country that still felt like a stranger. In between classes, she was just trying to find small moments of joy and grounding.Yet the isolation caught her off guard. She admitted there were days when she felt deeply alone. Homesickness, she said, “kicked in when I least expected it.” In those moments, spontaneous FaceTime calls with her parents — sometimes even at 2 a.m. Indian time — became her lifeline.

The turning point she almost missed

Finding her place socially wasn’t instant. In her words, she was “floating, trying to find [her] space in different communities.” For a while, Diya drifted without an anchor.

But then something shifted — unexpectedly — at a slam poetry event she almost didn’t attend.That evening, she met people who would later become her chosen family in Canada. Reflecting on that moment, she said, “That event became a turning point,” reminding her that the most meaningful experiences often arise from the most unplanned ones.She came to understand something powerful: community doesn’t always arrive fully formed.

Sometimes, you have to be the one who builds it — slowly, intentionally, and with courage.

From participant to leader

From that point on, Diya began gravitating toward spaces that reflected the same openness she had once longed for. In her first year, she became a Connections Lead, working with equity-denied students. That role, she explained, helped her see that she could play a meaningful part in shaping other students’ journeys.Since then, she’s taken on several student-facing roles — from campus housing and event planning to international student support.

Her current co-op role as Global Learning Facilitator has brought her journey full circle, as she now supports other students navigating the same disorientation she once knew.She shared that one of the most fulfilling spaces was the International Peer Community (IPC), where she served as a Community Leader. There, she helped organize multicultural events and supported international students in forming friendships that “felt like home.”

The connections she made in that role — both personal and professional — continue to stay close to her heart.

Home is a ritual you carry

Through all of this, Diya has remained anchored to her cultural identity. Her growth abroad didn’t mean leaving her roots behind — it meant letting them grow stronger, more visible.She admitted that coming from a joint family in a collectivistic society, she deeply longed for the sense of connection she had back home.

In response, she created small, grounding rituals: wearing Indian clothes to campus, cooking daal chawal after work, and making intricate mehendi designs when she felt low.“These simple yet meaningful acts,” she said, “made me feel at home within myself.”

Behind the gloss, the truth

Diya was clear-eyed about the fact that studying abroad isn’t always what it seems on social media. Yes, it brings opportunity — but it also brings invisible challenges.She explained that the international student experience includes much more than classes: “Learning how to cook, manage your finances, doing taxes, juggling academics, all while figuring out who you are and who you’re becoming.”Even now, there are moments of overwhelm and uncertainty. But in those moments, she leans on her community — the very one she helped build — to remind her of her strength.“It’s not about having everything in place,” she reflected.

“I find it’s more about learning, unlearning, and evolving along the way.”

A note to the ones who are just beginning

To those considering the leap to study abroad, Diya offers this: pack more than just your clothes and books. Bring your language, your culture, your values — they will shape your journey in ways you cannot yet imagine.“This journey will challenge you, surprise you, but above all, transform you,” she said. “And if you ever find yourself lost, I hope you remember, that’s where the real growth will start to take shape.”In Diya’s story, there’s no grand triumph or dramatic epiphany. What there is, instead, is something quieter — the steady, often invisible work of building a life from the ground up. And in that quiet, an unshakable truth: sometimes, just showing up is enough.