The start of the new semester is fun and exciting! New classes, a clean slate for academics and more opportunities. However, for those college students who live on campus, leaving home after break can be pretty tough. If you’re anything like me, I absolutely dread the moment I have to leave home to go back to school. Not because I dislike college but because I get in the routine of being home and dislike having to say goodbye to my family. This feeling can lead to feeling homesick the first few days, weeks or months at school. Being homesick can result in avoiding other people, skipping out on fun events or just feeling down in general. Sure, it’s okay to miss home, but missing home all the time is bad for your mental health.
Listed below are a few tips to help those of you who are feeling a little homesick at this time.
- Avoid Going Home
One of the biggest tips I have is to avoid going home. Even though you may miss home and want nothing more than to be in your childhood room, going home can make you even more homesick than you were before. Constantly leaving school is going to prevent you from meeting new people and participating in fun activities at school. It’s very important to spend time with people from college so you can form a bond with them and make some potential lifelong friendships. I would suggest setting up dates when you plan on going home during the semester. These dates can give you something to look forward to and avoid going home all the time.
- Call Home
Personally, I call home at least once a day. I love talking to my mom and letting her know everything that happened in my day and vice versa. Talking on the phone with her, whether FaceTime or not, helps ease my feelings of being homesick and keeps me more calm. Talking to your loved ones at home, whether it be family or friends, can help you feel more comfortable where you are. It’s nice to be able to talk to your family and then continue on with your day at school. Calling home is nice for your parents, too. As much as you miss them, they definitely miss you the same amount, if not more!
- Spend Time With Friends
Spending time with your friends can help take your mind off of your feelings. Your friends might even be feeling the same way, and you can talk to them about it. Whenever I start to feel a little homesick, I go and spend time with my friends, and it helps calm me down. When you spend time with your friends at school, it helps you realize you have a new life now, and it’s making you pretty happy. Whether you and your friends like to go out or stay in, spending time with each other can help lift up your spirit.
- Join a Club/Organization
Joining a club will help keep your schedule more occupied and give you less time to think about being home/feeling homesick. Being a part of a club also gives you an opportunity to meet new people and gain new experiences. It’s important to attend the different club and organization fairs your school might hold and check online for different events you can attend. When I started joining clubs and putting myself out there, it really helped take up more of my time and I met a lot of great people. It also helped give me the feeling like I was starting to belong, and I started to miss home less and less.
- Let Out Your Emotions
Whether you let your emotions out through talking, writing, music, etc., it’s important to get these emotions out and let someone know how you’re feeling. Everyone gets homesick at times, which is okay, so letting your feelings out can help you feel a little better and more understood. Throughout my first week at school, I felt a little stupid for being so homesick and upset because I saw other people thriving. However, I wish I knew there were many other people going through the same thing as I was and were just as nervous to express how they were feeling. Just because it looks like someone is having the best time of their lives, it doesn’t invalidate your emotions at all.