View from the Bridge: Homesickness strikes
0By Felicia Proctor
One topic that some college students face their first year of college is homesickness. This is something that all college students think will not happen to them because they are ready to be on their own. Not all students go far away from home, but they can still experience homesickness. It is your senior year of high school, and you cannot wait to graduate. You connect with your first roommate as soon as you get the notice on which classmate it is; and then you go out and buy everything you need. Getting away from your parents and having a little bit of freedom, what teenager does not want that?
Until the day finally comes, and you are off to college. Everything is great, until your parents go to leave, and it all settles in that you are on your own. Life has really changed, and you have no idea what to do with yourself. You have to do your own laundry, make sure you get something to eat, and make sure you are not a slob since you are living with someone else. You do not have to tell your parents every move you are making because they are not there to tell you yes or no. It is a life changing experience. It can happen to anybody. You might tell yourself that it won’t happen to you, but you are wrong. There are always times that we want to be back with our family or see a friend that we thought we wouldn’t miss.
I was the one that said I would not get homesick because I was ready to get away. I ended up going to school 12 hours away from my home town in Titusville, Fla., which meant there was no going home for me on the weekends or maybe even breaks. I was that freshman without a car, so I was not really going anywhere. When my parents dropped me off, I was happy as can be. It was a little hard on my emotions when they first left, but I was alright. A couple weeks went by, and it all hit me. In that moment, I realized how close I really was to my family until they were actually gone, and all my hype was gone. After a day or two, I settled down and realized I was alright and ready for the adventure ahead of me. However, many of my fellow classmates may not be able to settle down and may deepen their homesickness.
There are many ways to deal with homesickness. The first way is to know that there is nothing wrong with you; it is completely normal for college students. You are not used to being alone and having to do things for yourself. Once you have realized that you are homesick, you have two choices. Choice one is you can sit around alone and continue to be homesick. On the other hand, choice two is you can get out like your other classmates and begin to experience life outside the classroom. Getting involved on campus with clubs and organizations helps. This is a way you can meet more people and not just have to go to class. It also helps when you are on a team because you have a little family there to help you. It is good because they are there for you and will try to keep you busy with things and comfort you. If you are not on a team, though, you can get by a little tougher. It is good to keep in touch with your family because you know they are there for you when you need but also want you to grow as a person.
If you are in need of help with your homesickness, many colleges have student success departments that are happy to help in any way possible. At UPIKE, the student success office is a great place to go to when you are in need of anything. They are like a second family when you start at UPIKE. They will do anything for you. That is the good thing about going to a smaller university, though. The larger universities have these options also, but you might just be a number. UPIKE’s number-one goal is to make you feel like family and help you. Staff are good about getting you out of your dorm room and making sure you are active.
The biggest thing is to keep busy or find a way to make yourself happy. It will get better in time. Make sure you enjoy your college years because they fly by! It feels like yesterday I was starting my freshman year here at UPIKE, and in two months, I will be walking across the stage to get my diploma!