Throughout the academic year, many college students flock back to their hometown-stomping-grounds to reunite with family and old friends alike. They return to a place where they are welcomed by people who love them and are excited to see them. They have a place to stay. For many other college students, however, no such place exists for them. Many times people do not return “home” due to familial issues, the travel costs, or simply because they are content with staying where they are.
It is important to understand that everyone’s association with the concept of home is unique. With that, each person’s relationship with their family and their life prior to college is complicated and cannot simply be reduced to any one-size-fits-all generalizations. For those with close familial bonds, leaving for college could have evoked strong feelings of sadness, homesickness, and nervousness. For others with negative or no strong familial ties, leaving for college could have brought about a huge sense of relief and hopefulness for the future. College may have meant an escape from a toxic and/or abusive family living situation.
Regardless of one’s attitude towards their family or “home,” college is undoubtedly a suitable environment for forming new, family-like relationships with others. Forming close bonds with others can solidify a new “home away from home” that many desperately want when they come to college. Ways to accomplish this include joining an on-campus club (see: UW RSO list). An on-campus club allows one to foster a relationship with others who share a similar goal, passion, hobby, or way of thinking. One could also consider joining UW’s Greek community. The notion of joining a sorority or fraternity is synonymous with gaining lifelong sisters/brothers. If one wishes to not be bounded by geographic proximity to groups, or they do not want to engage in extensive face-to-face communication, they can consider joining an online community. No matter how you do it, actively surrounding yourself with others who are accepting of you and make you feel good about yourself is vital when it comes to forming meaningful relationships.
Lastly, it is important to emphasize that there is not one single way to think of home. Home does not have to be where your parents live or where you grew up or even where you are now. Home can take on many different forms in many different contexts. When you really think about it, home is wherever you make it.