Hi everyone,
I’m a 22-year-old boy Indian international student currently pursuing my Master’s in Cognitive Neuroscience at ARU in Cambridge, UK.
I came here with long-term ambitions my goal is to eventually pursue a PhD in cognitive science/neuroscience, contribute to the field, science communication, research, media and build meaningful interdisciplinary collaborations. I’m deeply passionate about science, neuroscience, psychology, history, books, films, documentaries, podcasting, and intellectual discussions that genuinely expand perspective.
Back in India, I was someone who connected easily with people. I’ve always been curious, socially active, and highly motivated. I attend lectures, networking events, university activities, and I’m already involved in university podcast initiatives while also working toward creating science content for social media. I’m constantly trying to learn, grow, and meet people.
But after moving to Cambridge in January, despite nearly five months of actively putting myself out there, I’ve been struggling socially in ways I didn’t expect.
I’ve found it difficult to build meaningful friendships especially with people outside my own ethnicity. While many international students naturally stay within their familiar cultural groups, I personally want something more diverse. For me, one of the biggest reasons for studying abroad was to genuinely connect across cultures, exchange ideas, and broaden my worldview.
I don’t want to remain socially limited to familiar circles alone. I want friendships based on curiosity, creativity, intellectual growth, and genuine exchange.
This has left me questioning:
* Is this cultural difference? * Social norms? * Ethnicity? * Communication style? * Or am I overthinking and creating insecurity?
I often wonder why, despite being kind, proactive, and deeply interested in people, I still feel a gap.
I want to break that barrier.
I want to freely connect, discuss, create, and collaborate without constantly worrying about judgment or social distance.
So I’m posting here because I’d genuinely love to connect with:
* People interested in science * Neuroscience students or (researchers in any Stem field who wants to share their research ideas) * Writers * Filmmakers/documentary enthusiasts * Podcasters * Social media creators * Historians * Book lovers * Open-minded intellectuals * Anyone building meaningful projects
I’m particularly interested in connecting with people who are open to meaningful collaboration whether that involves podcasting, science communication, documentary development, writing, media projects, volunteering, creative brainstorming, or exchanging ideas that can genuinely grow into something impactful.
Feel free to reach out.
I consider myself highly open-minded, deeply curious, and always ready to explore new ideas. I genuinely enjoy discussing almost anything, but my strongest interests are science, cognition, storytelling, culture, media, and innovation.
And for fellow international students:
If you’ve felt socially stuck despite trying hard what helped you?
How did you genuinely build diverse friendships?
Because right now, I’m trying my best, but I feel like I’m hitting an invisible wall.
I’m hoping maybe others understand this feeling and give good advice, or maybe there are people out there also feel the same..
Thanks for reading.