I am an international student majoring in Computer Science at University of Louisiana at Monroe. I come from the country of Himalayas - Nepal. I left my home country for United States, the land of opportunity, as a teenager to pursue my quest of higher education. While pursuing my dream of becoming a software developer, I have learned life as I transitioned from my childhood to adulthood. The path of learning and discovering myself has not been all smooth since I left my family. The Ups in this path have helped me move one step closer to my dream, while the Downs have made me stronger and mature by breaking me socially, emotionally, and physically every time I tried to leap.

Growing up in a family of academic background, I have always been a sturdy student and a curious person. It would be fair to call me a nerd given that I never slipped behind my academics during my high school. But, that was all I had been exposed to before I came to the states. It was my first time living away without my mom feeding me and dad guiding me, first time doing anything on my own, and all that in a foreign land. The only thing that kept me going was the taste of academic success I had owned in high school and my childish confidence. I had an internal belief that I could achieve what I want without knowing the steps for it. Outside of the class, I was struggling to understand the world around me and trying to fit in the new land. All the time, day and night, my mind questioned about why and how of my surroundings. Why do people act so busy and self-centered, Why have they made money the most important thing in their life, Why is there not a real connection between a student and a professor, were few of the questions that haunted me. Within my first semester, I found a college-job to make me financially happy. I became friends with my colleagues and started to get involved in campus community.

Towards the end of my first semester, I caught a disease which caused itchiness and redness in my eyes. I always had health problems during my childhood, the only concern my parents have about me. "A Louisiana thing, Not a big deal", said the doctor after he examined me. Hay Fever, what he called, is an allergic disease caused by pollen in the air during fall. Ambitious, but mostly lost, was I during my first year in the US. I started to like my computer classes starting the second year. I was more focused in my study but emotionally lost. Although I was the top student in the class, I was not completely content with life. I used to get tired in short time and take naps to overcome the tiredness. After my third semester, I felt I was homesick and deemed it necessary to go back home. I had the same excitement, that I had before coming to the states, when I bought my ticket back to home. I spent a much needed time with my family and returned after a month. While at home, I figured I had severe deficiency of Vitamin D in my body that was causing all the weakness. I came back fresh and finished my forth semester with great vigor. Fifth semester was going perfect until a day when I chopped my finger in a kitchen accident. The accident led to my painful and dreadful days which would last for months. I spent all my money in medicines and had to be jobless for the semester. Sixth semester started well, but soon I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Currently I have dropped my working hours and am under Hypertension medicine. Now, I am trying to move on forgetting whatever happened in the past. I know the time is not going so good, but the positivity and hope is still intact in me.