Moving away from home can be really challenging, no matter how far away you’re moving. It’s hard to leave your friends and family behind and suddenly be living in a brand new environment. My first time leaving home and living on my own was a month ago when I moved to France to start my study abroad experience. This past month has been difficult with being so far away from everyone I care about, especially since there’s a six-hour time difference between France and my home back in Ontario. But, over the past month, I’ve discovered a few things that have really helped me cope with being homesick.
Stay connected
The first and possibly the most basic one is making sure you stay connected to everyone back at home. I message most of my friends and family every day and we’ve even set up a day of the week when we’ll facetime, even if it’s for a short amount of time. Having a set day for when we’ll video chat makes it easier to not go a significant amount of time without having a call. With my one friend group, we’ve also all downloaded an app where we can post updates throughout the day so that we can all still be connected and know what’s going on in each other’s lives even if we’re far apart. Staying connected to your loved ones is so important and it really does help ease some of the homesickness.
Make new friends
This is another really important one, especially if you’re somewhere where you don’t know anyone. Meeting new people in a new city can be really scary but it’s important to remember that a lot of the people around you are in similar situations! Making new friends lets you have a support system in your new town, plus it gives you people to spend time with if you ever need a distraction from being homesick!
Get out of the house
Staying inside can get really depressing and can really feed into your homesickness. It’s important to get out of the house, even if it’s just for a little bit in order to clear your head. Isolating yourself will only make you feel more alone so it’s important to try and do something every day, even if it’s just a walk around the neighbourhood to keep yourself busy and to get to know the area and people around you. Keeping yourself busy is a great way to cope with homesickness! If you don’t have as much free time, you won’t have as much time to think about being homesick.
Know that being homesick is okay
Being homesick is inevitable. No matter how long you’ve been away from your friends and family, there will always be moments when you’ll be a little homesick. It’s important to know that being homesick is okay and that everyone feels it at one point or another!
Moving away from home can be nerve-racking but eventually, the homesickness will subside. It’s important to not let these feelings have a big impact on your life. Give yourself time and eventually, it will get easier to be away from home.