If you’re living on campus or in your college town, most of us are not going home for Thanksgiving and haven’t been home since August. It makes sense that you feel homesick.
Part of living at college is leaving home. Leaving the place you grew up, the bedroom that developed and transformed with you throughout high school and maybe even elementary school. It breathes with you, with every new book on the shelf, every new picture on the wall, or every shirt thrown on the floor. Each cry, laugh, sleep, lazy morning or late night spent in your bedroom turns it into a uniquely personal and identifiable space. If you’ve lived there long enough and poured yourself into it, your room can become a part of you.
Suddenly leaving that space to come to a generic-looking dorm room or empty, closet-sized apartment bedroom, can be strangely trying, especially when you can’t return for 4 months. It can make the transition to college really challenging. So, here are some ways you can bring your room to school with you so that your new bedroom can become your home. The trick is to trigger all five senses in ways that transport you back to your room at home.
1. Sight: print some of your favorite pictures of you and your friends, family, pets, or even of your room! Collect paintings, postcards, posters, and other sentimental decorations that can warm up your space. Hang them up on your walls with intention, in places that you will see them often. Next to your door, for instance, so that you acknowledge them every time you leave or return.
2. Smell: Use candles, diffusers, or room sprays that you may use at home to remind you of that space.
3. Touch: invest in some pillows, sheets, and blankets that feel like those you use at home. Every time you get into bed and close your eyes, you’ll be transported.
4. Hear: play music that brings you back to times that you lived at home.
5. Taste: buy snacks and cook foods that you often ate at home. These tastes will trigger feelings of actually being there.