After graduating in July 2018, I didn’t know what to expect from the “Outside World”, mainly because university for me was more of a ‘it is what you make of it’ experience. I didn’t even realise that I was part of the minority in university because the course I did was densely populated with people who were just like me – and by that I mean people who would tick the “Black African/Caribbean and British” box when filling out their nationality but would lean more towards the “African/Caribbean” side than the “Black British”. I knew this because when the question of where others were from came up, people would just say their country of heritage, and nobody would question it.
I have faced many changes in life and I never thought anything would beat the GCSE to A Level one but leaving university and entering the working world did just that and left me with a taste of reality. The little glimpse of the working world that I got in the UK was the first time in my life that I would be victim to subtle racism and microaggressions and not have anyone like me to share the experience with. It was the first time I was made to feel like the odd one out and, although I never before cared to be seen as “British”, I felt less “British” than ever. Due to my experiences, when the opportunity to move to the United Arab Emirates came up I grabbed it and I’m so glad that I did.