Where I'm from, the fear of being homesick is a major factor when it comes to choosing where to go to college. It's a small community, and most are terrified of moving too far away and risking being detached from the only life they know. Homesickness is a given part of the college experience, but no one really gives it the credit it deserves. It can really affect even the happiest student's mental health and well-being, even if we don't like to admit it. We're supposed to be getting ready to go out on our own into the world, not missing our pets and families. If we do, does that mean we're afraid of change? Are we hindering our own progress when we wish we were back where we were before?

When I finished high school (I'm in my third year of college now), I was determined to get far enough away from home to make a new life of my own while staying close enough to reap the benefits of that sweet, in-state tuition. I arrived at my freshman year stressed and terrified, but I thought that was just what every college student did. As some of my classmates started to venture back home and admit they couldn't live away, I realized it's possible to miss home while still transitioning into a functioning adult. It doesn't make you weak or immature; it makes you a human being who had a childhood. In addition, studying abroad this year, I experienced the exact same homesickness as the dreaded freshman year. I was getting to traipse around Europe for a whole year, and I still managed to wish I was still in Nowhere, Pa.

No matter what your relationship with home is, you're still going to miss it from time to time. Nostalgia can even hit us when remembering stuff we don't even like. That's the worst part about homesickness: It makes you miss things you never thought you would miss. Does that mean you fear change? Maybe a little bit, but literally everyone does. It's completely natural to yearn for the comfortable and familiar, especially when you haven't made any attachments to your new environment yet.

That being said, the only "treatment" for homesickness is to give yourself a little time. It's ridiculously tempting to run back before giving something new a chance. Venturing out and doing new things can make huge leaps in your personal development, and you'll be surprised at how much you can accomplish. However, let's say you've given yourself time and your "treatment" isn't working. You still miss home, and you definitely want to go back. So, go. This is what no one tells you. At the end of the day, your life is about your true happiness. Success isn't measured by how far you go away, how big your new city is or how big a risk you've taken to get there. It's measured by you on your own scale. Everyone's path is different, and there's nothing wrong with staying in one place. If it makes you happy, that's all that matters. Homesickness is a feeling that often gets shoved down and ignored, but if you genuinely interact with it, it can even tell you what you need to do. And believe it or not, you really can always go back home.