Reflective Essay on Feeling Different and Its Impact on Self-Esteem

Running head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Reflective essay
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note

1REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Feeling different is another way of feeling special. I have always felt different since my
childhood due to my introvert nature as I felt alone most of the time due to lack of friends.
However, when I grew up, the world became a difficult and a complex place where I understood
that there could be more complicated situations which can make me different than others. Soon
after completing my graduation, I decided to pursue higher studies in my discipline of
humanities and with due time and my marks, I was admitted to one of the prime institutes of the
country. My journey began on the very next month when I shifted to another country to follow
my dream. As I chose to stay in the university hostel, the situation started changing. Soon I
realised that I was staying somewhere that did not give me any homely feeling. However, it took
me time to realise this uneasy feeling of not being at home was not coming from anything else; it
was the result of the people surrounding me. The students who came for that particular course
came from a diverse background and different place as a result of which they were multilingual,
and the only mode of communication was English. Coming from a native place where English
was not the official language and where people around me were more accustomed to speaking
their native language, I found myself in a different situation. My incapability of conversing in
English aggravated this. I never faced this level of isolation and indifferent in life and would
have never experienced it if I would not have come here. This was a different experience in my
life and indeed a difficult one. When I was not able to communicate with my fellow neighbours
in English, the only option I had was to stay alone as I could hardly make any friends.
What set me apart from others was that my inability to converse in English. This not only
made me feel left out, but it also brought down my confidence level in one leap. I felt I was the
only one odd and awkward here who lacked the quality to be normal.