The final stretch of the semester is here! Halloween is over, and November has arrived, which means every college student’s canon event of mid-semester sickness has probably occurred. I’ve personally been a victim of this lingering illness that can only be diagnosed as a recurring cold. However, there’s also another ailment often unaccounted for: homesickness.
Maybe it’s the fall weather indicating that Thanksgiving is near, or the Target displays trying to convince you it’s Christmas already. Reminders of your family back home seem to be everywhere, and this mid-semester homesickness seems to creep up on everyone. While the cure may seem unknown, here are some ways I combat homesickness to make my college environment feel a little bit more like home.
Calling My Family and Friends
Call your mom! I promise she didn’t tell me to write this, but, seriously, calling my loved ones is the easiest way I settle my homesickness. Sometimes, all you need is a quick catch-up on your way to class to make you feel more at ease. I especially love making phone calls when I’m commuting to school or between classes. It feels way more attainable than setting aside an hour of zero interruptions to debrief.
However, if the walk is too short for a phone call, I like calling my family and friends during meals. Sometimes I want to enjoy a late-night sweet treat from the comfort of my room. While they might not be there in person, video chatting with my hometown friends makes me feel like I’m having dessert with them. Whether it’s on the way to class or during a meal, calling my family and friends has made college feel a little less foreign and new. Don’t worry, I’ve also been guilty of FaceTiming my pets, too.
Making My Room Feel Like Home
As an introvert, my room is my favorite place when I need to recharge my social battery. My bedroom didn’t feel much like home when I first moved in, so I made it my mission to make my room a cozy space.
Lighting is the most important thing to me. Cool lighting can make a room feel desolate and cold, while warm lighting can make a room feel inviting and calm. Adding a lamp and some string lights completely changed the tone of my room since my walls are gray, but my bedroom walls back home are pink. This may seem like a small difference, but the change in lighting made a dorm-like room feel like a proper bedroom.
Adding decorations and candles elevated the space as well. I hung posters and photos from my bedroom back home to make my new space feel more familiar. I also got a candle warmer and found a scent that reminds me of the candle my parents used back home, making my space feel even more homey.
Adapting My Routine
Constantly moving from your hometown to college and then back home is exhausting and overwhelming at times. If you’re like me and prefer keeping a routine, switching from one lifestyle to another can be challenging. When I moved to my college town for the year, one of the tools I used to maintain a routine was adapting the activities back home to my new college life.
Instead of walking my dogs after dinner, I FaceTimed my mom while she walked the dogs during my afternoon walk. Instead of listening to music while I drive to high school and work, I listen to music while I walk to class. It’s not a perfect substitute, but maintaining a familiar and consistent routine helped me transition back into college life after being home all summer.
Embracing New Friendships and Making Plans
This may be obvious, but trying new activities and seeking out new friends helped me tremendously as a freshman. Everything was unfamiliar at first, so eating lunch with the same people every week allowed me to build my own circle. It sounds cheesy, but your friends do become your family at college.
Plus, always having a weekend plan to look forward to makes me excited to explore what my college journey has in store. It’s important to make my space remind me of home, but I also want to embrace a new lifestyle. While Tallahassee will always be my home away from home (but never my true home), creating new memories has made returning as a sophomore feel more like a homecoming.
Whether you’re a freshman or a graduate student, homesickness can hit the hardest when you least expect it. However, having strategies to cope in my back pocket has continued to help me push through that final stretch of the semester before the holidays.
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