When I first decided to come to UT Martin, my biggest concern about being far away was missing my mom. I had no idea that missing my three cats and two dogs would a much bigger problem. Something as simple as my cat curling up on my lap while I’m watching TV really cheers me up. Without that, those quiet moments are gone.
I live in a very nice dorm, and I’m very comfortable where I live. I didn’t even realize how much I missed my animals before I started thinking about coming home that first time. When I was on the phone with my mom discussing my weekend at home, she told me that my cat really missed me. For some reason, that made me realize how much I had missed them.
Of course, the only animals that reacted to my two-week delayed arrival were my dogs. My senior dog even jumped on me despite her bad knees. My cats acted like they didn’t know me and had never known me, but I made sure to remind them that I loved them. They made it clear they didn’t care.
I’ve learned to miss my animals and adapt to that. My mom helps me. She sends me regular updates and photos to show me that all my babies are just fine. Seeing pictures of them cheers me up. There is not always much I can do to feel better about missing my fur babies. I spend a lot of my time looking at the pictures and videos of my animals that my mom sends me. I usually go home at least once every two weeks, so I don’t have time to miss them too much. If I do stay longer, though, I have no shame in asking one of my friends with pets if I can visit. Missing my pets is my biggest problem in regards to homesickness. I love living on campus, but I really miss my fur family.
People in college towns are exceedingly kind. More than that, everyone loves to hear a good cat or dog story. I do it all. I talk about my animals constantly. I tweet about them. I post on Instagram about them. My dog tweets are my most-liked tweets pretty consistently, but I don’t take that personally.
Talk about your pets unapologetically. Miss them. Know how much you miss them. When you go home, let them sit on your lap and don’t worry about the hair on your leggings afterward. Take as many pictures of them as your phone will hold and look at them constantly. Let your mom bug you with infinite pictures. Chances are, they miss you just as much.