I first flew to the US in August 2021. The excitement of attending college in a new country outweighed the fear and nervousness I felt on my drive to the airport. When I arrived on campus, I was so busy moving in, and familiarizing myself with everything, that I didn’t have the time to sit and think about how far away I was from home; I didn’t have time to think about how I was in a new country surrounded by strangers.
A few days later, I video called my parents, and as soon as my mom said hi, I started bawling my eyes out. Here I was, realizing that I was in the US away from my family, friends, and everything that had been a constant in my life for the past 19 years. It’s strange, leaving everything behind in pursuit of an opportunity that could potentially make your life better.
Staying on campus was hard. I would spend hours and hours on call with my parents, and feel empty when they left. Sure, I was making friends and going to class, but mostly, I felt lost. I felt out of place, and all I wanted to do was pack all my bags and get on the first flight home. But home was India, a 24-hour flight away, and unfortunately, very expensive. I would spend large amounts of money on Indian take-out just so I could emulate some semblance of comfort in this new, foreign land where everything was different and new.
I still get homesick sometimes. I’m a sophomore, and that intense feeling still comes back from time to time—especially during festivals like Diwali, and Holi—but now I’m In a position where I can deal with it in a healthier manner. A lot of my closest friends on campus are international Indian students like me, and knowing that my homesickness is a shared experience is comforting and has allowed me to create a trusted friend circle who are always down to make me feel better.
Homesickness is something that is not going to leave my side for a long, long time and I see it now not as something that is bad, but as a reminder that I have a fulfilling and happy life waiting for me back home. I feel sad when I leave home, and I feel sad when I leave MSU to go back. My homesickness is a reminder that tells me that I have two places close to my heart that I cherish, and that I miss a lot. It’s oddly comforting now, and I know that home is only one call away.