The painful truth about being a student!

Okay, no prizes for guessing (as usual), but do you know what the most painful truth about being a student is? Well, a student in a foreign land that is. Or rather, a student in a country where things are costlier and the currency is stronger than the one at home. Now now, that's quite a big giveaway. 

Ha ha, and yes! Being a full-time student bears the opportunity cost of income forgone. It is especially painful when all you can do is to helplessly observe the income you've saved up by working over the last couple of years deplete and drain away in a matter of months! Okay, that's not exactly my situation because I'm on a PM* scholarship. My savings are stored safely in a POSB account in Singapore, earning a meager amount of interest each year.

Anyway, please don't worry about me. I'm still surviving well. I won't resort to what many Americans who are dependent on unemployment welfare would do (i.e. to beg on the streets). They have stationed themselves at every nook and corner, and they probably compete among themselves for space! I'm fortunate that I don't have to buy many things for my room because I'm living in an apartment that is pretty well-furnished. I really didn't expect a television, a mini-fridge, and even a DVD player in my room! Some students end up with bare rooms or furniture that don't seem very clean or well-kept. 

 

The pain sets in when you need to spend money on daily and monthly expenses like food, toiletries, cell phone bills, rent, etc. These are much more expensive than what you get at home. There are no hawker centers and food courts here in NYC. All you can do is exercise prudence in your expenditure and befriend someone local or a senior from school who can tell you where to get cheap stuff. There are means to buy things at more affordable rates. Cook when you can and separate a portion of food you get at a restaurant for takeaway so you can eat it for your next meal at home. And oh yes, settle for less exclusive brands. I know this is painful for those of us who are more brand-conscious, and tricky for those of us who rely on prices to get a sense of product quality.  

Buying household items and eating out the past few days has been a learning experience. I've learnt a little on what is considered expensive over here and what I can do to reduce my expenses. Thank God for the PM scholarship! Otherwise, this course would have remained a figment of my imagination. Even if I did have a stipend, going by the market rate that psychology doctoral students get in the US (approximately USD 700, and that's if you get into a good school that pays you one), it's going to be extremely insufficient. It won't even cover my current rent! 

NYC is expensive and it's worse when you aren't earning over here. Although it is easy to envy my peers who are being paid and are climbing the corporate ladder in Singapore, I (and I really do speak for me only) like my life better! My future is a mystery to me right now, and it was worrying at first. But I revel in the suspense building up to an almost certain future that is orchestrated by God. It is also the same uncertainty that drives me to cling on tighter to Him. I'm glad I'm leading an adventurous life; I'm exploring new sights and experimenting with new cultures. It's tough but it's fun. Hope the surprise at the end of my journey will be a great one!!

*Ah yes, PM scholarship stands for Papa Mama Scholarship! :)

Lord, help me to do great things as though they were little, 

Since I do them in Your power.

And help me to do little things as though they were great, 

Since I do them in Your name.