Feeling homesick? Try these tips and tricks from NGU students
Carlee Colvard, Staff Writer and Miranda Bradford, Staff Photographer
Homesickness is a normal part of the college experience. It can range from missing normal every day chats with family members to craving some of your grandma’s cooking after eating one too many meals in the caf.
There are many ways to beat homesickness. Social media and texting make it easy to communicate with friends and family back home. Maybe you can even find creative ways to communicate, such as snail mail.
Often times, it’s best to not go home on the weekends when you have the choice. It’s important to get used to being away from home and finding ways to stay busy with friends on campus who are probably just as homesick as you are.
Here’s some tips and tricks for dealing with homesickness from your fellow students. Next time you begin to miss home, try some of these ideas to help get you through it.
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“What helps me when I get homesick is calling my mom or my sister. Especially when the semester gets crazy. It’s great to hear their voices and hear how their day went, as if we were all sitting in the kitchen instead of an hour away. Other times, it helps to remember how wonderful my friends are here and how lucky I am to spend my college years with these people.”
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“The best way to avoid homesickness is to make wherever you are feel like home. The best way to do that is to surround yourself with people who become like family to you while you’re here.”
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“One quote that really helped me was from a chapel sermon. The man said, ‘Where the Lord’s presence is, I am home.’ That brought me comfort during freshman year. Now as a senior, I have felt more homesick than I have ever been and I don’t know why. My parents come up to see me, but I don’t get to go home much. I still remember that quote whenever I am down. ”
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“I think that everyone goes through homesickness at some point. The key for me was and still is to stay busy – despite the fact that I really wanted to stay in the dorm and be away from people. I really needed to put myself out there and get to know people to stay busy. It is not easy but once you get past that mental barrier and can put yourself out there, you can make friends and stay busy.”
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“When I get homesick, I just try to stay busy to keep my mind off of it. Eventually it becomes easier, and I become accustomed to being away from home. I try to talk to my family every week and that really helps me get over it.”
