Lily Huynh/The Cougar
College life is hectic and difficult. Surviving becomes even more difficult if students have been with their families all throughout their lives.
From international students to in-state students, missing families is a pretty common phenomenon. Here are a few tips to fight through separation anxiety and feeling lonely:
Regular communication
While college schedules can be very jam-packed, it’s essential to maintain regular communication with your parents.
Calling them once a day and checking in will help students feel connected and make them feel like there’s someone who has their back.
It provides emotional support and students can share their big and small moments. This will also enable a sense of safety for the parents as well.
Consider their perspective
College brings a lot of independence for students and an equal amount of anxiety for their families. Parents tend to get extra worried and concerned about their children once they leave for college.
This can lead to paranoia and misunderstandings on both sides. To avoid such situations, it is recommended that students listen to their concerns and try to make them feel heard and respected.
Students might not agree with their perspective but listening to their concerns will reassure them. It is also important that families know how to contact their children in case of emergencies.
This could involve sharing important contact information like a roommate’s phone number or the address of a close friend.
Practice time management
Developing time management skills is important for both studying and spending time with your family. This will help students stay up to date with their work while having dedicated time for their families.
Plan for holidays, birthdays or special family gatherings well in advance and create a schedule together. This will give them emotional comfort that their child still thinks about them.
Scheduling also makes it easier to stay in touch despite busy routines.
Create new family traditions
This is really important especially for international and out of state students. It’s very common to have old, family traditions and being in college sometimes denies the liberty to continue them.
Therefore, it is essential to start making new traditions. Make use of technology to the fullest and ensure your family knows you still value the traditions.
Whether it’s a virtual movie night, sending postcards or celebrating milestones with video calls, new traditions can help maintain a similar closeness.
Practice boundaries
It is okay to feel homesick but, it is equally important to maintain healthy boundaries while also respecting theirs. It is okay to have an expectation that they are always one call away, however, that might not be the case all the time.
Students shouldn’t let their parents have high expectations and make it clear when they’re available to talk and when they need space for studying or social activities.
Embrace the distance
It is difficult to accept the distance from home. It can feel overwhelming and the urge to just give up is unavoidable.
However, it is important to embrace the distance and accept college life. This will make the transition process easier and make the families feel better too.
Students should take this time as an opportunity to grow into themselves and learn more about who they want to become in life.
