Homesick in College: 10 Tips

By Lorena Roberts on September 13, 2017

If you haven’t already moved into college, it’s coming soon. Sometimes it’s hard at first, especially if your relationship with your parents is strong. It’s hard to be in a totally new environment, where you may not know anyone, where you have to get used to new routines. One of the hardest things about moving to college is learning all the new things there are to learn about yourself while going to class and just trying to make yourself dinner.

Sometimes those who struggle with homesickness give into the feeling. Sometimes they don’t give it long enough to adjust, and they end up moving back home. They either drop out or go to a community college. (These aren’t the only reasons some people go back home from college, but it could very well be a contributing factor.)

If you’re feeling homesick and you’re not sure how to handle it, here are some tips.

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1. What you’re going through is normal

At some point, every new college student feels homesick. What you’re feeling isn’t unusual, so don’t feel like you’re doing this alone. Chances are, even your roommate and your floormates are feeling a little homesick. It’s okay. Accept it. You’re going to get through this.

2. Stay in contact

But don’t stay too much in contact. Calling your parents every day, multiple times per day, is a bit unreasonable. You don’t want to be the kid who’s always leaving the movie theater, or dinner, or game night so you can call your parents. Staying in contact is good — just don’t sacrifice your new experiences to keep finding out what your parents are having for dinner tonight.

3. Make new friends

Part of being homesick is simply feeling lonely. If you make new friends, you’ll have people to spend time with when you aren’t in class. Instead of calling your mom three times per day, you can hang out with your new besties. It’s important to build your own community now that you’re in a new place.

4. Get involved

Trust me, your parents are going to be much more excited to answer your phone calls if you have something new to tell them! Join the sailing club and go for a spin at a nearby lake — they’ll love to hear about it.

Take a new class at the campus gym and then call your mom to tell her all about it.

Pretty soon, the more involved you become, you’ll have time for quick texts between classes, but overall, you’ll be occupied with your own (new) life.

5. It’s not really about home

According to this CNN.com article, being homesick isn’t really about wanting to be at home. Homesickness comes from the preoccupation of thoughts of being at home. But it’s very easy to get over. If you find yourself thinking about friends and family at home and it’s interfering with your functioning, it’s time to make where you are now your “home.”

Start by making your space yours. Decorate the walls. Put up photos. Get excited about starting your new life where you are now.

6. Give it some time

It’s okay to be sad every now and then, but remember to give yourself time to heal. Take a day or two to just be sad and miss home and then move on. Don’t get stuck in a cycle of depression. Call your mom, go for an impromptu visit, and then tell yourself you’re going to try harder at not missing home.

7. Don’t go home every chance you get

It’s hard to take your mind off of missing home when you go home all the time. You can’t build your own life if you’re stuck on still trying to live it from a distance. Instead of going home every time a class gets canceled, try to give yourself some guidelines.

I went home twice my first semester. And that’s including Thanksgiving and Fall Break. It’s important to really focus on building your own life. Stay put for a few months. Pretty soon, you’ll totally forget about home.

8. Use snail mail

It’s awesome to get mail when you’re in college. So you should start the correspondence! Send letters to all of your family and ask them to write you back. Pretty soon, you’ll be getting letters every day! It’ll help you feel more connected to those you love if you put in more effort to talk to them.

9. Stay positive

Tell yourself every day that you’re getting better at this. In another few weeks, you won’t even remember what it was like to miss home or to want to move back. If everyone else can get through it, so can you. Don’t lose hope. Keep telling yourself that you can do this!

10. Make the most of where you are

Play tourist for a day and go see things you haven’t seen yet. Take your camera and a friend — it’ll be a good day to Instagram all your moments together. If you spend your days inside watching Netflix, you’ll miss good opportunities to fall in love with where you are.

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