Lily Huynh/The Cougar
Homesickness is a common problem for college students.
Students often wake up one morning, days or weeks after moving in, with a knot in their stomach and feeling like they’d rather be anywhere except their dorm bed.
It happens to almost everyone, even to students raised in Houston.
While homesickness can’t be controlled, it is still possible to manage reactions and cope with it.
To avoid booking the soonest flight home, read more on how students from all walks of life combat homesickness:
Call home
While students can’t always be with their family, most stay connected by calling home. Simply phoning home can serve to remind a student they’re not alone.
Computer science freshman Jay Castelan, whose family is out of state, phones home every night.
“Me and my parents talk everyday over the phone,” Castelan said. “It helps me feel less homesick because it reminds me I always have someone supporting me from the sidelines.”
During these calls, he describes his day and gives his parents a rundown of what’s happening in his life.
This helps him to process new events, de-stress and feel like he’s with his family while still advancing at UH.
Homesick students should take advantage of the technology available to them, including text, email and phone calls.
Find family in your friends
Biology junior Sina Jafari is heavily involved on campus and experienced homesickness. What all students can do to help relieve homesickness is to meet people, Sina said.
“You can meet people anywhere, it can be at a lecture hall, the dormitory, even lines in the dining hall,” Jafari said. “You’ll find people are much more receptive than you think and everyone’s looking to find new friends.”
A close friend group can serve as family and transform campus into a home away from home. They can be a support network and a shoulder to lean on in tough times.
Stay distracted
To remedy homesickness, students can stay busy and active with school work and extracurricular activities.
By staying occupied, students have less time to think about home and can settle into campus life more easily. This helps create a sense of belonging similar to what a student might feel at home.
“There’s so much to do on campus that most of the time you’ll never have to go far for anything to pass the time,” Jafari said. “Join clubs, organizations, go see plays and football games and hangout with the people around you.”
Visit home whenever you can
A common strategy employed by students is to simply go back home.
While this may temporarily relieve feelings of homesickness, it may help to comfort students and remind them that they’re not alone.
However, to avoid missing out on on-campus opportunities and to maintain the independence that comes with being a college student, students may try joining parents for dinner or visiting a couple times a month.
As someone raised in Houston, family isn’t far off, but Jafari still feels the weight of being away from home.
“I try to visit a couple times a month, but I don’t stay for the weekend,” Sina said. “People can do whatever though, and you shouldn’t feel bad about having a dorm and staying at home sometimes.”
Build a routine
Building a routine can help ground students and center them at their new college campus.
They can adapt a daily routine from home, or build a new one altogether at college. A morning ritual can give a sense of consistency where they can feel at home and stay productive.
Maintaining a daily schedule will help students stay organized and distracted from being away from home.
Process feelings
Pushing feelings to the side will only allow them to fester and come back later to hurt. They need to be processed properly and mindfully.
Students should take time to meditate, to go on walks and engage in mindfulness. UH offers a variety of resources for students, such as CoogsCARE, which provides mental health resources.
Additionally, students may access Counseling and Psychological Services to speak with therapists and process their feelings with a professional.
Motivate yourself
Students should reflect on why they’re in college, their purpose, and their goals and aspirations.
Remembering these reasons can help them manage homesickness and stay focused on their academic and personal objectives
“I use it to my advantage and as motivation,” Castelan said. “I’m getting an education to make them proud.”
A students’ purpose may come from a variety of sources, and remembering this purpose can make a huge change in feeling homesick.
Let it pass
Ultimately, being homesick is a wound that only time may heal. Allowing time to process feelings, settle in and get used to college life is the quickest way to feeling better.
Students should do their best to get involved, stay active and motivate themselves in college while they let their feelings pass.
