Hello All!
Today’s post is going to be a bit more on the serious side. Besides, showing you the latest trends and how to organize areas in your home, I like to be real and honest about what life as a college students is truly like. So, we are getting real about homesickness. What a fun topic for a Tuesday. In all seriousness, let’s get real.
Before I started college, almost two years ago, I was worried about being homesick. Many family and friends had assured me I would be so busy I wouldn’t be able to get homesick, or it would go away after a month, someone had even told me that by Fall break I wouldn’t even want to come home because I would be loving school so much.
They were all wrong.
Yes, I was enjoying school, and I was making friends and I was most certainly busy, but that didn’t change the fact that I was homesick. There would be times when I was lonely, or I craved a homecooked meal or I wished I was back in my own room. But, I didn’t let that stop me from enjoying college life. Christmas rolled around, and I was told that I wouldn’t want to be home for a whole month and I would soon get bored and I would be thrilled when I could go back to school.
Nope, it was still hard going back.
Spring semester brought more hope and more experiences. But I still had my moments of weakness and some tears. Once May rolled around, I was so proud of myself for making it through a full year. I thought, if I could accomplish that I could do anything.
A few months later, Year Two rolled around. It brought new experiences, new friends, new challenges and new beginnings. I didn’t get homesick as much, mostly when I was getting dropped off from being back home from a break. I had gotten used to falling back into my routines at home, it was hard to get adjusted back at school. There were times when I was overwhelmed and stressed and wanted a break from school and just to be home, but I had to push through. That’s the thing about homesickness, you can take a bad situation and make it better.
How can you handle those moments of weakness and homesickness?
- Have a good cry (yes, we all need a good cry to let ourselves go and feel all our emotions that we keep buried deep within.)
- Take that time to be alone but not too long, make plans to go out with a friend to grab dinner or go to study.
- Share how you are feeling. It may be uncomfortable, but who knows you may find someone who feels the same way and doesn’t know who to talk to about it. You can be there to help each other through it.
Homesickness is different for everyone, others don’t have it all, some only have it until their first fall break, but for few like myself, it never goes away. As I close on my second year of college, I still have my moments where I am homesick. I don’t let that dictate my life. I push through the pain, sometimes I cry, sometimes I watch my latest binge show, sometimes a phone call homes helps. But, I carry on, and I keep on living life. As i look back on the past two years, I don’t remember being homesick or sad but rather the joy, the laughter, and the memories that came with friends and family.
Whether you are a first-time college student leaving home for the first time or you are gearing up to start your first job in the new world, we all miss home, it just means you feel so much love from home that it’s hard to be without it.
Until next time,
Elspeth