Dear Homesick Freshman,

I know how you feel. I haven't stopped being homesick since the moment I moved all of my things into my freshmen dorm and I'm now a sophomore in college. All of those same feelings that I felt my very first semester of college came rushing back the moment I parked my car in my school's parking lot to start my second year. Does this mean that we don't like our schools? No, we just love being home. We love sleeping in our own beds, in our own rooms, and waking up to our families who are already up and drinking coffee in the living room. In high school, I took all of this for granted. When you do get to go home on the weekends or for the holidays, cherish the moments you have there. Don't just lay on the couch because you are tired after a week of finals. Get up and help you mom cook a meal, watch a movie with your dad, go see the friends that have been there for you all throughout high school. You're about to be an adult with obligations at work, don't let these last years of being a teenager or a super young adult pass you by. Coming home from college still allows you to be that young and free adult that you are without all of the schedules and meetings.

I'm not telling you to never stay on campus on the weekends. Don't rush home every Friday after you're done with class like I did my freshman year. Weekends on campus can allow you to be productive and get the rest you need. I realized that I didn't have very many friends when I got here for this Fall semester, and I blame my own self for that. Weekends on campus do allow you to get some bonding time in with people who you don't have time to be with because of class and homework. Allow yourself to have down time. Try staying on campus the first couple of weekends to ease yourself into the college life. It will be hard to get used to, especially since everything is new and you don't know anyone, but this will give you the opportunity to find friends. When you make friends, it will keep you from wanting to hit the trail at every moment possible. In this process, it's going to be hard. You might cry in the shower a few times because you miss your mom and dad, but it will help you. Help you to transition from being a freshman to a college student.

It's funny how it seems like your freshman year of college is basically a rewrite of kindergarten. Treat it that way. Don't be afraid to talk to people that you don't know. Don't shy away from getting involved in all the fun activities. Enjoy your snack and nap times. Your parents probably cried the day they dropped you off for your first day of elementary school, and the same probably happened when they left you in your dorm room. Since you don't get to run into their arms when you get home from school every day, call them instead. Tell them all about your day just like you did when you were five years old. Tell them that you love them and miss them but try not dwell on it. Just try to have fun day by day in this grown up kindergarten that we call college.

Love,

A fellow homebody