You can have Oreos for breakfast and no one can tell you what time to be home! You leave home and you get that rush of freedom for a while, but it doesn’t last forever. Homesickness is unavoidable in most cases.
You get sick for the first time and don’t have someone to nurse you back to health. You wake up on your first birthday away from home and don’t have breakfast cooking downstairs. Then one song that your mom or dad likes plays on the radio and you burst into tears much to the surprise of your friend (not speaking from personal experience or anything). Fortunately, while unavoidable, there are remedies to cure it! Below you’ll find some personally tested ways to cure that wretched feeling of homesickness.
- Video Chat
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Ok, this one seems obvious but sometimes it can be hard when you leave home to get in the groove of calling your family. Maybe you’re worried they’ll be busy or that you’re calling too often but remember that they want to hear about your escapades as a new adult. That 10-minute call can do wonders to make the distance between college and home feel shorter.
- Eat Food From Your Childhood
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If your parent used to always make a specific dish or you haven’t had Campbell’s Chicken & Stars in a while, I recommend making them. In the dorm, the latter may be more realistic but if you have the supplies, learning to make a meal from your youth can not only help you polish your cooking skills, but it can also bring you closer to your parent.
In the dorm freshman year, I bought Spaghetti O’s when I was missing home and it may not have tasted great and stained my Target Dorm Essentials bowl, but I definitely felt better!
- Do Some Childhood Activities
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Just because the government says you’re an adult certainly does not mean that you always have to act like one. Cuddle your stuffed animals, play outside or have a Disney movie marathon. Learning to take care of yourself is stressful so you deserve to have a brain break by healing your inner child for a few hours.
- Snail mail
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Writing a letter and getting it to the mailbox requires a bit more effort than sending a text but being a pen pal with your sibling or parent can be a great way to bridge the gap. Go to Walmart and buy silly dinosaur stickers and glitter pens to tell your family the things you already told them and the things you didn’t. I swear it’s a blast and it creates great mementos to keep for a glimpse into your college life.
- Try something new in town
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You may be missing home, but you won’t stop feeling that way if you don’t make the most of your new one. Go roller skating, try the best restaurants (Gordo’s) or go have a picnic on a campus green. Get involved in the events for students. There is lots to do when you go looking for it and you’ll only get out of your college town what you put in.
Whatever route you take, one or all of them, remember that everyone feels this way. It doesn’t really go away, but it does become easier to manage as you start to make it on your own and form connections, both to your peers and to the city you now also call home.
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