Living out-of-state can be hard, especially if you go to a small liberal arts school. It can seem as if everyone is able to go home on weekends and hang out with their families if they come down for events. It can also be disheartening when you are so disconnected from your fam-jam. College is like losing your mom in the grocery store for 4 years. So here are some ways to handle being an out-of-state student!
Always have mom on speed dial.
There are going to be days, or weeks and possibly months where you just need to call mom for a good cry. Learn her schedule by heart and hope you don’t call her during a meeting. Sometimes she won’t be able to talk and you will have to settle for a good ol’ fashioned text message. Yet, if she is technologically savvy, like mine, you will learn when she is texting you from her phone or her apple watch. Suddenly replies will be in the short form of an “OK.” That’s when you know the watch has won and she probably needs to get some work done. Respect her time, she will call you back so you can cry and it will be OK.
Learn to know how quickly you can make it to the airport.
This step is crucial for planning flights home. When do you get out of class? Do you need to eat? How long is the drive to the airport? Have you even packed yet? These are all important questions when it comes to travel. If you have the trip to the airport down to a science, then you know how whether you should pack the night before or in the 10 minutes you have to leave the house. Pro-Tip: don’t wait until the last minute to pack, you will either forget everything or be late and cut it close for your flight! It’ll never be worth it. I will change my ways if I keep telling myself this, right?
Understand that a four-day break can be worth the trip home.
It always seems like you need a week home in order to justify the cross-country flight, but never underestimate how much four days can do for you. It is enough to have copious amounts of snuggle time with your dog, sleep in until 1:00 p.m. without judgement from your family, actively avoid any homework assigned for break and eat great food because you’ve complained to your parents enough about the cafeteria on campus. Food is so much better when you don’t have to add salt and pepper just to make it slightly more edible.
Make your friends jealous.
This will be true if home is somewhere warm. My warm place is Arizona and it gives me great enjoyment to tell my friends I won’t have to deal with snow over Winter Break or Spring Break. Michigan weather can be a bit much but when you know that 89 degrees and sunshine is waiting for you… be sure to tell as many people as possible. Oh! Don’t forget to Snapchat your friends every day about the weather. They will love you forever.
