Sejal Shirgavkar
While trying to figure out what to do with my degree and perhaps my life, I found myself thinking about something we rarely treat as serious: loneliness. Not dramatic loneliness, not the kind that announces itself loudly, but the quiet kind that hides behind the busy lecture halls and polite smiles. This thought came to me while I was reading Shakespeare’s play, Othello. Despite being a respected general, Othello is never allowed to forget that he is ‘the Moor’. He is powerful and admired, yet always marked as different, and I began to wonder how many students feel the same way?
A mispronounced word feels heavier than silence.
Many do – silently. In classrooms filled with international students, some remain silent not because they lack ideas, but because they are translating their thoughts in their heads before daring to speak. A mispronounced word feels heavier than silence. An accent becomes something to apologise for rather than something to own.
Cultural loneliness appears in subtle ways. It is the hesitation before wearing traditional clothes to campus, wondering if it will invite curiosity or judgment. It is laughing half a second too late at a joke because the humour does not translate. It is being witty and expressive in your own language, yet feeling reduced in another.
Sometimes it is missing festivals or watching family celebrations through a screen, adjusting to quieter versions abroad. Sometimes it is a small compromise of not cooking your favourite food because of shared kitchens and fire alarms. These moments seem trivial, even humorous, yet together they create a quiet distance between who we are and how we live.
Cultural loneliness does not always look dramatic.
Academic spaces can intensify this feeling. Fear of sounding ‘wrong’ or financial stress can lead to a limited social life and underconfidence in language proficiency, which can slowly shrink participation. Cultural loneliness does not always look dramatic. Often, it looks like achievement accompanied by exhaustion.
Cultural loneliness is subtle, and so too are its remedies. Belonging does not always arrive on its own; sometimes it requires small, intentional acts of courage, such as speaking in a seminar despite hesitation. Stepping beyond one’s comfort zone is not about transforming overnight, but rather about refusing to shrink. When individuals silence themselves out of fear of mispronunciation or judgments, they unknowingly construct boundaries which deepen isolation.
The goal is not assimilation but participation.
The University of Nottingham provides career counselling, personal tutoring systems, and psychological support services designed to assist students in navigating academic and cultural pressures. International buddy schemes and student-led societies offer further opportunities for connections.
Cultural loneliness may feel permanent in the moment, but it is often transitional. The early months of adaptation are rarely easy. However, with institutional support and personal resolve, isolation can transform into confidence. So follow your heart, do not hesitate to show your true self. The goal is not assimilation but participation. Not erasing one’s identity, but allowing it to exist visibly and confidently.
Sejal Shirgavkar
Featured image courtesy of Padmathilaka Wanigasekara – Photography via Pexels. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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