1. The first week is the hardest.
Obviously, it is hard to say goodbye to your family, your bestfriend and everything else that you are the most comfortable around but no one tells you the annoying truth - it doesn't get easier for a little. The pit in your stomach that appears while you watch your parents get in the car and head back to your hometown without you, doesn't go away the second they are no longer visible.
Everyone tells you the goodbye is hard but no one tells you it gets harder as the days go on. When you first arrive on campus, the longer you go without your family and your home the more homesick one will become. Give it a week, or so, and then you will finally warm up to the idea of the independence you now have.
2. Everyone feels lonely - and thats okay.
Even if you go to a university where half you high school also goes to, you will still feel lonely. It is so incredibly different from being in your hometown and seeing faces you have grown up with everyday to walking on campus and seeing one familiar face - or very few. The truth is, even if you see ten familiar faces a day, no number could ever give you the same comfort you are used to. It is totally okay (and normal) to feel lonely at the beginning. Living with a new person, in a new place, without your family will definitely come with lonely times. Little things that we take advantage of in high school and barley notice, now become things you miss the most when you no longer have them.
3. You anxiously await the first time you’ll visit home.
If you’re a homebody, it is very likely you already have the first time you’ll come back home planned out before you even leave. The idea of watching Friday Night Lights at your old high school, sleeping in your bed, showering without shoes and being in the place you feel safest is something you can’t wait for. The first time visiting home will help with feeling homesick tremendously.
4. You’ll appreciate your family in ways you never knew were possible.
For most people, the reason they are a homebody isn’t necessarily because of their home, itself, its who they share it with. You love being home because you love seeing your family all the time. Once you go to college, there is no doubt that you will have a new found appreciation for them and all the things they did that you never realized you loved. You’ll learn to appreciate your mom asking you how your day was.
You’ll miss your dad making you laugh every time you talk. You’ll even miss fighting with your siblings over practically anything possible. You’ll start to understand that you miss these things because you miss your family and the genuineness you all had as one.
5. Give a few weeks and you’ll fall in love with your new home.
Although the college transition can be tough, especially for us homebodies, it is worth it in the end. You picked the school you’re at for a reason, and you’ll fall in love with everything. You’ll make amazing friends because you have the same interests, not because of proximity. It is totally normal to struggle at the beginning, but stick it out because it can only go up.
College is the start of the rest of your life, and there is a long road ahead filled with memories you will cherish forever. Let go of the scary thoughts and appreciate the time you can go home and see all your old friends, your family and your pets, but remember life is starting to move on - and you must to.
