Five Tips for Coming to Terms with Homesickness in College

A misconception that many new college students have is that homesickness is a bad thing. However, homesickness is natural and almost unavoidable when going to college. Face it, you'll probably be homesick, at least to some degree, in the first few weeks or months that you are at college. You can't necessarily control the severity or duration of homesickness at college, but by coming to terms with it, you can deal with it in a more constructive manner. In this article, I intend to describe five things that college students can do to come to terms with homesickness at college.

College Homesickness Tip #1 - Decorate Your Dorm Room With Photos and Other Sentimental Items
One of the best things you can do to deal with homesickness at college constructively is to decorate your room with pictures of friends and family or other sentimental items. Having reminders of happy times and special occasions with your loved ones present throughout your room can help to alleviate feelings of loneliness and remind you that you have a network of people that support you in your collegiate efforts.

College Homesickness Tip #2 - Talk to Family and Friends Regularly
You don't need to be on the phone with your parents every night while you're at college, nor do you need to send text messages back and forth with your friends at every hour of the day. But talking to friends and family with some regularity - perhaps once or twice a week - can help you to adjust to college and can help them share the college experience with you. Talking on the phone or with Skype can help you to feel closer to your loved ones while at college, even though you might be hours away. Much of homesickness is a feeling of distance. Communicating regularly can help you overcome that.

College Homesickness Tip #3 - Make Visits When Possible
Some students that live within an hour of where they go to college go home every weekend. I don't recommend this. However, if you have the opportunity, going home for one weekend once a month can help you to relax and come to terms with homesickness in a positive manner. Again, this shouldn't be something that you do every weekend. Dealing with homesickness at college shouldn't mean going home as much as humanly possible.

College Homesickness Tip #4 - Make Friends
The best advice I can give to new college students for dealing with homesickness is to make new friends soon after arriving at college. In the first couple weeks of college, everyone is out of his or her element and no social groups have been established. Making friends is much easier soon after you arrive at college than it is a month or two later. Making new friends will give you a social support group while at college and will allow you to deal with homesickness with others. Having new friends will prevent you from dwelling on feelings of loneliness or spending hours online talking to people from home, which, when taken to an excessive degree, can be unhealthy.

College Homesickness Tip #5 - Stay Busy
Staying busy while at college can help you to feel more at home, can take your mind off of homesickness, and can help you meet people. There are many ways to stay busy at college. Beyond classes, there are jobs, volunteer positions, and student clubs and organizations. Being involved in these types of activities will keep you busy and might help you feel a sense of purpose. Even if it's only going to a student club or volunteering once a week, getting out of your dorm room and being around others will keep you from wallowing in homesickness and loneliness.

Homesickness is inevitable at college and happens to just about everyone. Rather than staying in your dorm room and feeling lonely and depressed, it's much better to deal with homesickness by communicating with others, making friends, and staying active. If you have any other suggestions on how to deal with homesickness in a positive manner, feel free to share your thoughts in the form of a comment. Thank you for reading!