Turn to HC when going through you’re homesick and missing your family and use this advice from collegiettes™ who’ve been there!
Then, return the favor and share your advice for combating homesickness to other collegiettes™ for when all they want to do is be in their childhood bed hanging with siblings, pets or parents!
Skype became my new best friend. You get to see and talk to your family even if your miles from home.
– Sophie Fredericksen, Campus Correspondent, University of Georgia
I talk with my family at least once a day. That sounds excessive, but when you are as close with your family as I am, it is beyond necessary. Hugs throughout the day are important. Studies have shown that you need eight hugs a day to maintain a healthy level of happiness, and being away from home, I make sure I get those eight from friends.
– Kathleen Kalinsky, Social Media Coordinator, James Madison University
Calling my mom!
– Caroline Finnegan, Contributing Writer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Before I was accepted to NYU, I would come visit Washington Square Park (our campus and a New York City landmark) whenever I was in the city. Now that I’m here, I like to go sit in the park whenever I’m homesick to remind myself of how hard I worked to get here and how many opportunities I have access to by virtue of being in the city. If all else fails, I call my sister — we’re super close, so hearing her voice always makes me feel better!
– Hannah Orenstein, High School Editor, New York University
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A nice Skype session with my parents or my sister usually does the trick. It’s nice to see their faces and bits of my home!
– Kelsey Mulvey, Contributing Writer, Boston University
We’re lucky we live in this age, so take advantage: Skype, Facebook, e-mail, text and call everyone you miss. There’s no excuse not to.
– Sarah Kahwash, Contributing Writer, Kenyon College
My favorite way to cure my homesickness is to keep a box with photos, past event tickets, cards from my family, and mementos from my childhood. I have a letter that my mom wrote me for high school graduation that makes me feel loved every time! Also, wearing your comfiest pair of PJs, having a cup of hot cocoa, and watching a Disney movie usually does the trick!
– Kathryn Burgner, Campus Correspondent, Bentley University
I try to spend time with my friends and focus on being with them so that I don’t have time to wish I was at home. I have to get my mind off it. Being with people is the best way, but sometimes I also listen to music or write in a journal. I remind myself how much I love college and how little I really want to be home!
– Katherine Mirani, Contributing Writer, Northeastern University
I’m from Seattle but I go to school in Pennsylvania, meaning that I’m a 6-hour flight from home! I usually don’t go home between summer and Christmas, so I often get really homesick around Thanksgiving. After four years, I’ve realized that it helps to Skype with my family and close friends back home — seeing their faces makes all of the difference in the world. I also constantly remind myself that I’ll be home soon, and when I’m involved in things that I love on campus, I definitely don’t miss home as much!
– Jenni Whalen, Contributing Writer, Bucknell University
I like to do an activity or visit a place I love in my college’s town that I can’t do at home. I’m from South Florida, so I grew up without seasons and going on a walk in the Boston Common to see the foliage is so beautiful that it’s difficult not to be happy I chose a school far from my home. Looking at pictures of my family or calling my friends from home can sometimes make me more. Instead, I try to remind myself of all the amazing things here that I can’t get back in Florida.
– Michelle King, Health Editor/Editorial Intern, Emerson University
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Whenever I am feeling homesick, I call my family. Just hearing their voices makes me feel at home. I rarely felt homesick during my first two years of college because my older sister went to the same school as me. If I ever felt the need to get out of the dorms and away from people, I called up my sister and the two of us spent time together just like we would at home. She would cook me dinner and listen to my boy problems and soon I was no longer homesick. It’s a little harder now that she graduated but my family is only an hour away and they come visit often.
– Erica Avesian, Contributing Writer, University of Michigan
Being from New York but going to school in Florida, homesickness is not unusual for me. Whether it’s missing my friends or family, it’s often very hard to not get the “homesick blues.” Thank goodness for technology, because I am able to iChat, Skype and chat my family and friends on Facebook and/or Twitter. That’s how I combat with my homesickness.
– Itopia Mills, Campus Correspondent, Florida A&M
Talking to friends is the best way to combat homesickness. I make a point to talk about fun things we’re planning on doing over breaks when we’re all back in our hometown and research different events going on during a break or a weekend or whatever that we’d all enjoy doing.
Bring things with you from home that are important or hold special significance that you can look at or hold whenever you’re feeling down and missing home. For example, I still sleep with the stuffed bunny that I’ve had since I was born to help me feel a little more connected to my family.
– Sydney Nolan, Contributing Writer, University of Missouri-Columbia