Flu season comes and goes, but it’s starting to seem as though homesickness doesn’t have a time period. Freshmen, seniors, international students, we all get it—those pangs of nostalgia where you want nothing more than to be with your siblings, your parents, your dogs, doing that great thing you guys always did on Sundays or Tuesday nights, eating that perfect comfort food you grew up loving, feeling perfectly at peace with your little happy world. No matter how much we love our new cities and towns, no matter how much fun we’re having in college, being away from home can simply and painfully suck.
Over these last two months, I’ve realized there are a few things we can do to help bring the home to us.
Meet up with people from your hometown.
Whenever you find someone that grew up in the same vicinity as you, get their number and invite them to lunch every now and then. Having conversation that’s familiar with your lingo and your city’s unique culture will make you feel more at ease than you would’ve thought. Maybe you won’t click as well as you did with your peeps from back home, but you might find some real comfort in them.
Find a way to eat the food you’re familiar with.
This one’s more for the international students than anything—those poor kids miss their delicious traditional delicacies more than you could imagine. Find restaurants that specialize in your country’s special food, scourge out the Indian or Mexican stations they usually have in cafeterias, and if push comes to shove, try cooking some yourself. Also have your parents send you food-filled care packages, because if rationed well, those could make your week.
Call your parents.
This sounds a lot easier than it actually is, because between classes, extra-curriculars, and other random things that get in the way, phoning home often gets lost in the big disaster. But the truth is, no one knows you like your mom and dad, so it might even be more helpful to talk to them when things are crazy. Hearing about what’s going on back home is also refreshingly different from the rest of your schedule.
Go home!
Don’t be one of those people that stay on campus over break for no good reason at all. If you have the cash and the time, which you can usually always find a way to get, take the opportunity and go home, even if it’s just for a few days. No matter how much jetlag or flight time you may have to deal with, it’s something you’ll never regret at the end of the trip. Because the truth is, no matter how hard we try to fake being okay sometimes, there’s no place like home, and nothing will ever change that.