While every college girl shares many of the same college experiences (Procrastinating, Blue Book exams ), she also carves her own path and has her own unique adventure. Have you ever wondered what it’s like for other girls? What it’s like to be an online student? To get married?! To be a commuter student?Well wonder no more. Our one-of-a-kind CollegeCandy writers (and readers!) are sharing their unique experiences and opening our eyes to different college worlds.

Being an international student is kind of like being a celebrity. No, seriously, hear me out. Everybody wants to talk to you. Everybody think you’re really interesting. Everybody is fascinated by you. At first.

Everyone wants to hear about your lifestyle and your culture, and they find everything you say hilarious. Like celebrities, everybody already has their own ideas about you. Everybody already thinks they know you because of what they’ve seen on the TV or what they’ve been told. And then they’re disappointed when you aren’t exactly how they imagined. They realize you’re not exotic or exciting. They realize, well, you’re just like them really.

Like a celebrity representing their brand, I feel like I’m constantly representing my country. Sometimes I force myself to conform to stereotypes and revel in my Britishness far more than I would do at home.

Being an international student is kind of a double-edged sword. A lot of time I love the attention. I know that all I have to do is open my mouth and people will be all over me with “ohemgee, where are you from?” It’s especially fun in my Shakespeare class, where my teacher is always making comments only I’ll understand, or apologizing for generalizations. Everywhere I go people strike up conversations with me the minute they find out I’m English.

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College brings a whole lot of new experiences, new lessons and new people. But it seems that no matter what school you go to there are same characters on every campus. The frat house groupie, the sensitive all American, the cool girl, the Unhinged Coed, and the Americanized International.

Allow me to refine this status: Americanization is not to be confused with Westernization, nor is it a put-down.

International Students take up a demographic in most US colleges and universities. They are usually easily spotted on campus. No, not because that of clothing choices or accents, but because they maintain a certain wide eyed fascination and solemn intelligence. International students seem refined and sophisticated. Hard working and goal oriented. They worked hard to get to this prestigious American university and they keep that in mind as they work even harder to graduate.

Most International Students stick together, seeking the comfort of the familiar. They tend to sit back in class and take notes as the more abrasive and comfortable students take over answering the questions, debating the topics and joking with classmates. As soon as class ends, they head to the library or the comforts of their dorm room to get started on the reading assigned. They never join the rest of campus at the weekend parties.

But then something starts to change. As the semester rolls on and these students find themselves more at ease in their new environment, they begin to engage in common American customs. They become The Americanized International. Read More »