You spent your whole high school career waiting for this moment—time to move out! However, now that you are in residence you are missing the comforts of home.
You wonder if you made the right decision by leaving. You wonder why your friends don’t seem to feel the same way. You wonder what your mom is making for dinner. You, my friend, have a case of homesickness.
As a chronic sufferer myself, here are few tips to help you not only cope with homesickness, but excel in spite of it:
1. Know that you are not alone.
Although it looks like your roommates and all your friends on Facebook love university life, odds are they are having the same doubts that you are. They stay up at night wondering if they made the right decision. They get a little choked up when they hang up after a call from their mom. Even if they aren’t vocal about their fears and concerns, they are feeling them too.
2. Try finding new people from your home or surrounding area.
I loved when I would run into someone from Vancouver and was able to talk about BC. Even though they aren’t your best friends you’ve known since middle school, they do know the restaurants you go to or the concerts that came to town. Not only are you being comforted by experiencing familiarity, but also you are branching out and making new friends.
3. Keep busy.
Join clubs; go to residence events; go for a jog; try a new hobby. Don’t let your brain get the best of you. My mom always says, “Idle hands are the devils play things.” Same thing goes for idle minds.
4. Buy your family’s laundry detergent and drier sheets.
It is amazing how just smelling like home can make your feel a little better.
5. Take a break from talking to your friends at home.
Texting and calling your friends from home may comfort you in that moment, but it isn’t helping you in the long run. If you keep leaning on your old life, you won’t embrace you new one. So, don’t contact them for a few days and force yourself to communicate with new people.
6. Have faith.
I can’t guarantee what university is going to throw at you, but I can guarantee that you can handle it. Whether you change schools (like I did) or just need some more time to get acclimatized, there is no wrong way to get a university degree. You’ll get one at your pace, on your terms.
