It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better: Saaniya’s Journey as an International Student

Sanya takes a short pause in one of her favourite spots, the garden. A reminder that even on heavy days, there’s room for softness
A quiet moment with Sanya at the park during filming, one of the few times she let herself breathe and just enjoy the sunshine.

Being an international student comes with a quiet kind of strength, one you don’t fully understand until you’re living it. In our final project, we wanted to take that quiet strength and give it a face, a voice, and a story. That story is Saaniya Mehta.

Our video follows Saaniya through a single day, but it reveals so much more than a routine. It shows the unspoken weight many international students carry: the pressure to keep up with school, the need to work to survive, the unpredictability of daily life, and the loneliness that often hides behind a smile. It helps us see honest moments that so many of us recognize.

We watch her rush for the bus, get overwhelmed by another long day, push through classes, and finally take a breath in the one place she can unwind. We see her frustration, her resilience, and the little sparks of comfort she creates for herself. And when she finally returns home to her mother, a soft voice, a warm hug, you understand how important even one safe place can be.

The heart of the video rests on a simple but powerful truth Saaniya repeats:
“It gets worse before it gets better.”
It’s not just a line, it’s something she believes, something she has lived, and something she offers to every international student who may feel lost right now.

This isn’t just a video; it’s an invitation. A reminder that you’re not alone in the struggle. A peek into the life of someone who is still finding her place and still choosing hope every day.

Press play, and step into Saaniya’s world. You might just find a piece of your own story in hers.

The Sound of Home

Campus way at Wolfpack Road, Thompson Rivers University (Anjolaoluwa Alakaba/TRU)

Welcome to another interesting episode from the student life. In this short podcast, I sit down with three international students at Thompson Rivers University to talk about something we all understand, the quiet ache of missing home.

Leaving home means more than just changing your address; it’s learning to live without the familiar sounds, smells, and faces that made you feel grounded. In this episode, you’ll hear Olivier Rutagengwa from Rwanda, Jalesh Chumak from Mauritius, and Oreoluwa Alakaba from Nigeria share their experiences of adjusting to life in Kamloops, the loneliness, the moments of growth, and what “home” still means to them now.

Their voices tell stories of courage and adaptation, of finding small reminders of home in everyday life, a shared meal, a song, a conversation that makes you feel seen.

This podcast is more than just about missing home; it’s about rediscovering it in unexpected places. It reminds us that while the journey of an international student can be tough, it’s also filled with strength, connection, and the quiet beauty of finding belonging again.

Press play to listen and step into the world of students who are learning to make Canada feel like home, one memory at a time