Homesickness

At the start of college, many freshmen start to miss home, their families, friends, and the places they associate with their home, such as a favorite hangout spot. CNN.com published an article on their website about homesickness.

There are various ways to deal with homesickness. Here are a few:

1. Bring a few items from your old bedroom to make it feel like home faster. A few pictures of your friends and family are a good idea.
2. Adapt your old routines to fit with your new surroundings, such as going to church each week, or going to get a donut form a local bakery each Saturday morning.
3. Make friends and acquaintances to spend time with. Home is where you are surrounded by those you care about. Sounds cliche, but its true.
4. Find activities that you enjoy so you are not always thinking about home.
5. Call your family and friends from back home, but not too much. It may backfire and make you miss them even more.
6. Do not ignore your feelings. If you need to talk, talk. Do not deny yourself the right to feel your emotions. Overcrowding your schedule will not get rid of homesickness, but it could make it worse.
7. Recognize what is good about your new location, and get to know the area.
8. This is a good chance to go outside your comfort zone and try things you never thought about doing or never had the opportunity to do in high school. You may discover your passion, and no one can say stuff like, "I can't believe you're doing that!"
9. Be careful about comparing your new location to your old one. The new may come up short just because you are not used to it, even if you haven't given it a chance. Also avoid saying negative stuff to people you've just met. Some of them may be from the area or very attached to it and won't appreciate hearing things like, "I wish this place had a Trader Joe's, my old town did. My old town is so amazing!" It will come off as, "I hate this place, and everyone who likes it is an idiot."

College is a new experience and one of the benefits is that you are in a new place meeting new people. It can take some getting used to, so just give your school a chance.

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