What is home? Is it the house we grew up in? The town where we live? The place we go to school? "Home" can be hard to define, and that's why many people say it's is a feeling rather than a place. If this is true, how do we make somewhere feel like home? Going someplace new isn't going to immediately feel like home; it's something that we have to actively pursue. Whether it's moving to a different city for a new job, spending a summer away at an internship or going to college, we need to figure out what will help make us comfortable spending time in a new place.

It's very important for our mental and physical health to be aware of making wherever we are feel like home. This is something that many of us tend to struggle with, especially when going off to college. Although most of us look to college as a way to get away from our gossipy hometowns, crazy families and boring summer jobs, as the months drag on, we start to miss all of the little things that come along with being at "home."

It's only been a few months since move-in day. Classes are starting to get harder, and the stress levels are at an all-time high due to upcoming midterms. As we approach the middle of the first semester, many of us start to miss being at home. Whether it's our families, friends, dog or cat, or even just sleeping in our own beds, we might have a desire to go back and get away from the demands of school. For some of us, this isn't always possible due to distance, schoolwork and other obstacles. As a result, we tend to find ways to make our college campus feel more like home.

There are many ways to sincerely work on making wherever we are feel like we've spent our whole lives there. Sticking to the topic of college, bringing decorations and reminders from home is a great way to feel more comfortable in our dorm rooms. Blankets from our beds, pictures and mementos from friends and family and other reminders can give us a sense of security and therefore help us feel more confident. Little things like this help to ease us back into the routine of being away at school.

I asked my friends and peers what they do to make themselves feel more at home while they're away at school, and this is what they said:

"I bought an Xbox since I tend to play a lot when I'm at home. It helps me to relax after a long day of classes." - Ryan Casey, sophomore at Miami University

"I surround myself with good, fun people and focus on making friends who I can enjoy myself with and make me a better person." - Celeste Matta, sophomore at Miami University

"I bring pictures of my family and candles that smell like my house. I also like to have Sunday dinner with my friends. It makes me feel like I have a routine, and they're like my family away from home." - Molly Smith, sophomore at Dennison University

"I decorate my room with things I like and things from home." - Ethan Vanderbilt, sophomore at Miami University

"I make college feel like home by making a lot of friends who care about me, who I get to have fun with, and who make me feel comfortable." - Matt York, freshman at Cincinnati

As you can see above, it's definitely the small things that can help us feel more at home. All in all, home can be a person, a place or even just a feeling. Even though college will eventually start to feel like our true home away from home, a phone call to Mom or Dad every once in a while can help to lift our spirits. One of the most important steps, however, is making sure to surround ourselves with people who lift us up, encourage us, support us and overall enjoy our company. Actively making sure we surround ourselves with people who make us feel at home will make us feel better and assist us in creating new, lifelong relationships. Because at the end of the day, home isn't just a place, it's a feeling.

So, if we surround ourselves with people who remind us of the ones we're missing back home, it'll help with having a sense of family away from our families at home. Along with that, it helps us to foster relationships with the people we're surrounded by daily, and eventually, they'll be the ones we miss when we finally get the chance to go back to our hometowns.