I’m a reflective person, so looking back on what I’ve done and experienced is extremely therapeutic. As I think about my whirlwind first couple of months in college, I can’t help but see the common thread between all the times I felt sad: homesickness. That realization made me think about my first article for Her Campus, which had to do with loneliness in college. I wrote it because I knew I wasn’t the only one who needed to hear some optimistic thoughts about the topic, and I needed to take my advice to heart. Since then, I think I’ve found some great ways to combat those feelings.
The worst part about being homesick for me was missing my friends. As a crazy busy high schooler, I saw them much more often than my family, whether it was at school, dance, work, or club meetings. That made the adjustment to college strange since I was no longer constantly surrounded by best friends.
The best advice I have for feeling lost without your friends is FaceTime and social media. It’s indeed a blessing that we can call up our friends and see their face on a weeknight to do homework and catch up, and we know what’s happening in their lives with Snapchat and Instagram posts. It’s still hard to not be making new memories with them, but you always know what’s up with them, so you can jump right back into the friendship when you see them in person during breaks from school.
While the most jarring change from high school was not seeing my friends, living apart from my family was still incredibly odd. I was so used to walking around my house and seeing my dad and brother animatedly watching football, and my mom cooking dinner while dodging the ball my sister had thrown for my dog.
This was hard at first, there’s no denying it, but the way I’ve dealt with it is relatively simple. I started thinking about how happy and proud my family was that I was going to BU and the sacrifices they’ve made to send me here. My family would want me to try to get involved, to do my best in school, and to make great and supportive friends. When I miss them, I remind myself that I will see them very soon and that there are so many opportunities at BU to keep my mind occupied. It’s still hard to deal with, but it’s been really helpful for me to think about how they felt about me coming here and doing my best to make them proud.
Regardless of whether you miss your friends, family, dog, cat, fish, or turtle, the biggest piece of advice I have is to live in the moment. I was much more homesick sitting in my room doing homework or going on my phone all weekend than I am now, trying to go out and explore Boston or going to an event for a club. It’s also a lot of fun to have nights in with friends, like the movie nights I have with my roommate and floormate. The first weeks or months were hard, but we’ve all made it about halfway through the semester! Go us!
My roommate and I realized a few days ago that there are only three weeks until Thanksgiving break. We were shocked, considering it seemed scarily far away at the beginning of the semester. Whether you’re staying in Boston like me or going home to your family, try to keep these things in mind when homesickness creeps up on you!
Want to keep up with HCBU? Make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, check out our Pinterest board, and read our latest Tweets!