College has easily given me some of the best years of my life so far. I know that the memories and friendships that I've made are going to last a lifetime. I've created a nice little home for myself at school. I like to think that I've become a self-sufficient adult who can take care of myself. I like to think that, but it is undoubtedly not always true. Multiple times during the semester I find myself in a homesick slump. Like a real sickness, it can strike at any time and comes in different forms.
Sometimes I'm homesick for the smaller things that I used to take for granted. For instance, even though I rarely get to sleep there, I always miss my bed at home. I'm not sure what I find appealing about a twin bed with the same comforter that I've had since the 7th grade, but even when I'm curled up in my cozy bed at school I can't help but feel a bit of nostalgia for that little bed. The nostalgia gets worse when dinner time rolls around and I'm forced to come to grips with the fact that no matter how much I pretend I'm like Bobby Flay in the kitchen, no meal I ever make will be as good as it could be if my mom made it. At least once a week I have to text her asking if I'm cooking something correctly or if I did my laundry right or if a sudden cough means I should go to Urgent Care.
Other times the homesickness hits a little harder. I usually get homesick when the stresses of school get to be too much. But it can be onset by a glimpse of something that strikes up some old memory. I miss my grandma's house and the times my whole extended family gets together. I miss my old home in a state my parents don't even live in anymore. I miss my parents and my sister and my dog. I miss getting taken care of when I'm sick (probably the biggest doozy).
All of these things can cause a serious case of homesickness. But, instead of letting it get me down, I'm thankful. How lucky am I that all these things and places are a little piece of home for me? I have a home at school with my friends who've become family and I get little slices of home all around regardless of how often I get to revisit them.
