FITTING IN: Transitioning to a new environment

I was reading through my recent posts, and realised that I haven't talked much about my life at all (For the love of carbs, I haven't blogged in forever...haha! But I really do miss blogging.) and sooo, I decided to write this blog post for those who are finding it hard to fit in, whether you're new at school, university or just anywhere in general, really.

Firstly, let me just start off by saying that, I was never really an outspoken person to begin with, and I hardly took the initiative to strike up a conversation with a random person...until I went to Thailand. I don't often tell you life stories, but I shall attempt to type my life out, right here right now lulz.

So at the end of 2010, I moved to Bangkok and attended ISB. It was a completely new environment for me, in terms of the country itself, the language, the culture, the people, the school, the american syllabus, just basically, everything was different. And the school was so massive that it was actually pretty difficult to make friends at first, considering how much of an 'introvert' I was at that point in time. I hardly talked or even laughed when I was at school. The first 3 months was tough, but I obviously made it through my sophomore year! And mind you, I need end up making good friends. :)

After grade 10, I moved to another school to do A levels. SHB. It was definitely a smaller community in SHB, so I think that was a big factor as to why it was easier for me to make friends. And I really did make some really good friends then.

After 2 years, I moved back to Malaysia where I enrolled for Monash's October Intake which was...a pretty small intake, actually. So, this was where my journey really started.

October 2013, I went for orientation--alone--not knowing who I'd be meeting there. I was already a pretty different person by then, I told myself that I was going to talk to people and make new friends, and that was just what I did. Whenever there was a chance to talk someone, I'd just grab that opportunity to have small talk and who knows, they might just end up being my BFF lol (or not). I bumped into many old friends whom I've not met for years, and it was great, but I didn't hang around them forever lol. On Day 3 of orientation, I already found myself hanging out with a group of girls who I hardly knew, but they were so fun to be with and I felt like I'd known them for weeks already. But the funniest thing I remember was, one of them, K, said that her first impression of me was that i was "damn scary and intimidating", because I spoke with an 'accent' and she also told me that she thought I was the "I'm so pretty I'm so smart ha ha ha *flips hair*" type of girl. That totally cracked me up HAHAHA I died. To cut the long story short, I'm super glad that I took the initiative to talk to so many people, or I would never have met such an amazing bunch of people. Really. I met the greatest of friends back in Monash.

And thennn, after about 9 months...I left for Melbourne in July 2014. I was really sad to leave this amazing bunch of people that I've grown love, but oh well, LIFE GOES ON ya feel me? Transitioning to Melbourne wasn't hard to be honest, I was already used to moving schools/countries etc., and I knew quite a number of people here already. However, I still found it difficult to find close friends that I could hang out with and stuff. There were times where I felt pretty lonely, but I think it's really important that you don't let the loneliness get to you, if you know what I mean. I love making new friends, so even though I didn't have a close group of friends that I could talk to whenever I wanted to, I still took the initiative to get to know people. I won't lie, there's bound to be times where I just don't feel like doing anything, but I think I'm doing myself a huge favour by taking the initiative to talk to people, even if you're "the new kid on the block" and you think they should be the one to come up and talk to you first. Just because I'm the new one, it doesn't mean that I have to wait for people to come and talk to me, because sometimes, things just don't go our way and we end up getting disappointed. So if you can help yourself, why not?

I have to be honest though. There are times where no matter how hard you try to get to know some people, you guys are just never gonna get along well or be able to click. But it doesn't matter, if you think you've tried, then so be it. Maybe you'll be better off with a different group of friends!

Right now, I'm still hoping and praying that God will send me good friends--friends that I can hang out with, talk to about anything, build me up as a person and just..I don't know, be a good friend. :) But I believe that I'm going to have an even greater semester next year, and that I'll make those friends. On a side note, I've met sooo many people here that have been such a blessing to me, and have made an impact on my life here; whether big or small, whether they know it or not. Especially those from OCF. I'm really thankful that I went for the OCF orientation alone before classes even started. Haha, these are the people that build me up spiritually while I'm here in Melbourne, and I'm grateful for them.

So to you guys out there who are finding it hard to fit in....don't give up! Gather up the courage to talk to people, and you might soon grow to love people! I assure you, you'll never regret it, and you'll meet sooo many great people. :)

10 common cliches that speak truth

1. Actions speak louder than words.
I can't agree more with this statement. And I can't emphasize more on how disappointing it is when people don't keep to their word. If you say something and don't do it, fine, that's forgivable, but when you promise to do something and don't do it, you're just a (wo)man of empty words.

And don't you dare tell him/her that you love him/her and are willing to do anything for that person when you don't even show it. Because it is by doing those little things that ultimately show him/her that you do love her and appreciate him/her as a person.

2. Love is blind.
...figuratively. Think about it, why do people even break up in the first place?

Mhmmm, uh-huh.

3. You never know what you have till it's gone.
This is probably the truest of all cliches. I think a person wouldn't know how to truly appreciate something or someone until they've really lost it/that person--sometimes, forever.

4. Don't judge a book by its cover.
I've been there. Everyone has. Judging someone based on their outward appearances. But throughout the years, I've learnt to get to know the person first, rather than judging that person based on first impressions because I'm often wrong in a sense that, I later come to realise that there is so much more to that person than I'd imagined.

Of course, it works both ways. You may think someone is 'good' when you first get to know them, but...don't be surprised if (s)he doesn't meet your expectations and turns out to be different than the person you thought (s)he was.

5. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
What may seem ugly to you may be beautiful in someone else's eyes. For example, Justin Bieber JUST KIDDING JUST KIDDING he's not ugly at all in fact he's far from ugly but yeah he's just not my type. At all.

6. Time will tell.
Need I say more?

7. Laughter is the best medicine.
This is sooooo true omgosh haha. Even if laughing may be the cause of your death, at least you die happy, you know? Hahaha okay choi choi touch wood. But still.

8. Old habits die hard.
Indeed. Killing old habits take more than just doing it you know? It takes determination, patience, perseverance, self control, discipline--well basically, just a really positive mindset.

9. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Don't you think? :) Bahahahaha. Jealousy iz in the airzzz, gurl.

10. Last but not least, everything happens for a reason.
I really do believe that everything does happen for a reason, whether we realise it or not. Sometimes we make mistakes so we can learn from them. Sometimes we succeed so we know that there is hope. Sometimes we fall so we can learn how to get back up again. And sometimes we lose people so we know how to appreciate those around us even more.