Let’s face it- going into college, it can be easy to say bye to your parents and think from there on out, you can take on the world by yourself. Unfortunately, those thoughts aren’t as realistic as you might have thought from those first few days being on your own. For me, it’s safe to say as the long days of 8ams and dinner at Linda’s went on, I began to realize that my preconceived thoughts that I could do without my own bed, and home-cooked meals, were completely unrealistic.
Despite this sudden feeling of separation, it taught me that without this experience of being away from home, I would never be able to broaden my comfort zone at such a high level. Most importantly, I realized that it would be completely, and utterly untrue to go a whole semester at college without feeling sad, or unadjusted at times. Although I didn’t go into college with this feeling of second guessing my independence, when it hit me, it only made me stronger. It allowed me to foster greater friendships and enable me to find my home-away-from-home, even though nothing is like the real thing.
The bottom line here is that a common misconception about going into college is that you are supposed to be this independent, young adult, who is expected to live and do things on their own. The reality, however, is that college is a huge change in every student’s life, and you’re still young and used to your second-nature, your home, whether you’re 2 hours, or 2 plane rides away. That being said, homesickness shouldn’t be something to make you give up, or second guess your college experience. It should, if anything, make it better, and notice all of the people and things around you in order to make your second home.