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Country-by-country information for refugees and asylum seekers.
โPlease be gentle with yourself. I wasn't, and it made everything harder and try not to make big decisions on the worst days, I learned that the hard way and and talk to someone, even if it's just in here.โ
โI was in the same place this time last year. I remember my degree not recognised like it was yesterday. This week I went back to my evening class.โ
โI know the first year is rough. You're going to feel like a stranger in your own life. That's normal. Keep calling home. Find one small thing that feels like yours, a park, a coffee shop, a neighbour who says hello. Don't wait for the loneliness to lift on its own. I waited too long. And if you can, find people from back home. They'll get it without you having to explain. It gets easier, but it doesn't happen by itself. You have to make it happen. Even when you're tired.โ
โYou will rehearse conversations that other people do not think twice about. That is okay. You will hear your accent in recordings and cringe. That is okay too. The thing I wish I had known is that the fear gets smaller not because you 'get over it' but because you do the thing anyway, over and over, until your body stops expecting the worst. Find one person who gets it. For me it was Mason. And go dancing. Your body remembers how to be happy even when your head is busy worrying.โ