We are all at one of the most difficult parts of the semester. Spring break has come and gone, and while the end is in sight, we still have over a month to go. I can speak from personal experience and say that this is often a time in the semester when students begin to miss home.
If this sounds like you, dont worry; you’re not alone. I can assure you that a lot of people (including myself) are in the same boat.
So, in an effort to help us all out I’ve decided to come up with a short list of things to try and combat the feelings of homesickness.
1. Call your Mom and/or Dad.
Believe me when I say that your parents miss you. And if you’re starting to miss home, sometimes the best thing to do is just give them a call. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a very long conversation, but sometimes just catching up with your family can make you feel a whole lot better. Even better: if you have the ability to videochat, Skype or Facetime I would highly reccommend doing that. Not only can seeing your family members’ faces sometimes brighten up your day, but seeing your home on screen can also sometimes make you feel like home is a little closer. Another bonus to doing videochat: being able to see your pets if you have any! I know it always brightens my day when I get to see one of my three cats or my dog while I’m Facetiming my mom.
2. Do something that reminds you of your childhood.
Now this one can mean something different to everyone. Maybe there’s a TV show on Netflix that reminds you of being home — Go watch it! Or maybe there’s a sport or an old hobby you used to do when you were home — Go out and do it! Play a game that reminds you of home or read a famliar book or magazine. Cook your favorite food from home (if you have access to a kitchen). Listen to music from when you were younger. Just think of anything that you could do right now that has a connection to your home life. Whenever I do any of these things it brings back all those happy memories and makes me feel a little closer to home.
photo credit: pennstatenews http://www.flickr.com/photos/53130103@N05/25819740360″>Senior portraits from the 1950s in the yearbook via http://photopin.com”>photopin https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/”>(license)
3. Look back through your memories.
Now you might be wondering what this exactly means, but honestly there are numerous ways to do this. One way is to scroll through all those old pictures on facebook. These pictures can connect you back to the place you miss the most. And let’s be honest, it’s also kind of fun to laugh at how silly we all looked in middle school. Another great way to look through memories is through your high school yearbook, if you brought it with you to college. Not only can you look back at all the pictures and the fun times you had with other people, but you can also look at the autographs section and reminisce on what all your friends wrote. Which brings me to my next point….
4. Make plans for the summer.
Once you’ve reminisced about all your memories, that’s often a great time to reconnect with old friends you might’ve been losing touch with. Shoot them a text or give them a call; I’m sure they’d be happy to hear from you. And while you’re at it, it never hurts to make some plans with them for the summer. Not only does this give you something to look forward to, but it makes it that much easier to reconnect with old friends, and hopefully by doing so, you will feel less homesick.
5. Take a trip home.
One of the best ways to relieve that homesickness is to just make that trip home over the weekend. Obviously not everyone is able to do this, whether it be due to schedule restrictions, or just being too far away from home for it to be a feasable trip. However if you are able, I highly reccommend visiting home every once and awhile. It can be really refreshing to just get away from college for awhile and enjoy the comforts of home.
Hope this helps everyone combat their homesickness, and best of luck with the rest of the semester.
HCXO
All photos unless stated otherwise are courtesy of Pixabay