It may be a little hypocritical that I am writing an article on tips for dealing with homesickness, seeing that I struggled with this a lot freshman year. Not just the first few weeks of school, but I would find myself getting randomly sad, throughout the whole school year. Homesickness is not a weakness. It is a sign that you come from a great family. It a sign that you have amazing people in your life. It is a sign that your support system is strong. While I have no magically cure for the sadness that you may experience when departing from your loved ones on college move in day, I do have some tips that helped me.
1. Facetime/Skype/Video Chat
Technology has made it really easy to feel as if I was in the same room as my family, siblings, and grandparents. One day I was so homesick, they put the iPhone at my dinner table seat and I virtually ate dinner wth my family.
2. Hang Photos in Your Dorm Room
Go to CVS or any place that can print out photos. Cover your walls in photos of family and friends. Cover them in memories that make you happy.
3. Limit The Amount of Times You Call Home
You will be tempted to constantly pick up the phone and call home. My mom was on speed dial and I found myself wanting to call her every couple of hours to update her about my new life at college. Yet, sometimes I found that this was worse. The more I heard familiar voices, the more sad I got. Always call home, just make sure to do it in moderation. Don't be excessive. (I'm still working on this one).
4. Write Letters
THIS IS SO MUCH MORE FUN THAN TEXTING. Do you know how cool it is to get a letter in your school mailbox??? It's amazing. Write letters and get letters. It gives you a little piece of home. You can even tape all the letters to your wall to bring you joy whenever you look at them.
5. Get Involved on Campus
I don't think I can stress this enough. Get involved because you will meet awesome people and have activities to distract you. The more you do, the more you will not think about what you are missing from home.
6. Listen to a Family Favorite Playlist
My family always listens to 70s and 80s music when we clean our house. I made a playlist of all of our top songs, our road trip jams, and karaoke favorites. Listening to this always makes me happy.
7. Don't Go Home Every Weekend
You may think that going home frequently is solving the issue, but it will just make things worse. Be present in your new environment.
8. Rely on Your Friends
Everyone s going through it. Everyone is in a new environment and probably feeling the same emotions as you. Rely on those around you. It's okay to talk about your home and help each other.
