Moving away from family and friends is a big deal (obviously), along with this new and exciting part of life comes something not as fun: homesickness! Not exciting at all, but there are so many ways to deal with this sadness. For some, it can be so hard to put a smile on your face when all you want to do is be home. Whether your hometown is 30 minutes from school or in a different country, I’m here to help you learn to be content and even excited to be in a new place. New York City is a ginormous city to be living in, especially if you’re from a small town. Navigating new friendships, classes, and a new home can even be harder while dealing with your thoughts and trying to adjust to a new life.
Personally, I feel as if I’m very experienced when talking about homesickness. During my freshman year, I went to Pace University’s Pleasantville campus. For the longest time (3 months, to be exact!), I could not shake the feeling of wanting to go home. I had made new friends, learned my route to class, and even adjusted to a new routine, but every night I would still cry thinking about how all I wanted was to be home in my bed. I was so depressed and all I thought about was how my friends and family would fix this problem. How getting Starbucks with my friends or just driving around to get ice cream with my sisters would magically make this feeling disappear. I was very wrong. After a while, I realized that I’m not the only one feeling this way. My friends are all at school in different states yearning for the same thing, but going to get Starbucks with them wouldn’t even be possible, much less make my problem go away. So instead of having my usual bedtime cry, I decided to try and change the routine. I tried many different things to make my homesickness go away, and finally it did. Now, I am a sophomore (a transfer student at the NYC campus), and started my year with little to no homesickness.
Here are some of the things I did to shake that nasty feeling:
- Make a playlist
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Making a playlist helped me so much, and I don’t mean one with sad songs. Curate a playlist with all the songs that make you happy, or even songs that you can make new memories to. This playlist can be your walking to class playlist, homework playlist, or, if you’re in your own little world like me, a playlist for your new and exciting life. Make this year yours and think about all the exciting things you’re going to do in the future!
- Explore your new home
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I know walking around my campus really helped me last year. I learned to find small places I loved, and after class I would hang out there to listen to music or read. Even when I was sad or homesick, I would go to my favorite place just to think and I would feel better. In NYC there are so many places you can make yours, especially when you need alone time. Maybe one of the giant rocks in Central Park, or even one of the benches overlooking the water in Battery Park (that’s my favorite place).
- Hangout with your new friends
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This one might be obvious, but go out and make memories. This way, you’ll have fun and exciting memories associated with your new home and you’ll always cherish them. Going out also takes your mind off of the topic. Going to the Met on Fridays late at night is one of my favorite things to do. Maybe something as simple as having a picnic in a park would be fun. Maybe no one will ever amount to your friends from home, but you never know who you will meet and the bonds you’ll form.
- DO NOT LOOK AT THINGS THAT WILL MAKE YOU SAD
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Now, this is my last tip and, if anything, the one you should take seriously. For me, at least, I never let myself read letters my sisters send me in the first few days of school, or look at old photos and reminisce. All the dwelling on the past is just going to make you sad and I know it is hard to not do that, but it’ll help in the long run. I can’t even begin to explain the amount of tears I would shed reading letters and notes my family sent me but I know that I would see them soon. Know that you have people at home who miss you too but you’ll see them in no time! They probably can’t wait to hear all the stories you’ve made at school.
I hope this helps whoever needs it. I know it can be hard to talk about being homesick, others may not get this feeling or may not have it as bad but just know there are people going through it as well. I am such a sensitive person, so I have personally gone through others downplaying my feelings but you just have to ignore it. Facetiming my friends or family is also my favorite thing to do. Hearing my best friends stupid stories of what happened to her that month is literally what I look forward to each week Sending each other college merch and small things like that also helps get you excited when school is finally over and we get to go home! Last note, Folklore and Evermore by Miss Taylor Alison Swift WILL make you miserable, I don’t recommend listening to her when you want to go home! Now go out and have fun, you’re only in college once!