Every fresher goes through the inevitable homesickness, at some point. You go from home-cooked meals with your family to being woken up by your roommates sleeping with someone random. It will be hard to adjust but luckily you have so many people all in the same position as you! Here are a few tips for when you are feeling homesick.
If they aren’t your kind of thing, finding a replacement family always helps. Whether this is through crazy roommates, funny classmates or people you happen to meet around the Students Union. There are so many new people for you to meet in the first few weeks/months of university life – they say your friends you make in university are your friends that you will keep for life!
Remember that your family are only a phone call, skype call, email, drive or plane ride away. If you are missing them and feel homesick, let them know! Contact them to share how you are feeling for some moral support. Let them share this journey with you, include them and the milestones will be a shared victory, first week, first essay handed in and first year will all fly past. But make sure not to contact them too much, you don’t want to miss out on beginning your new life. You just need to find a healthy balance. Maybe plan your next trip home or something to have it to look forward to.
Everyone has something to help calm them down, when they are feeling upset. At university, it is important to make time for yourself even it’s for an hour a day or week. So, whether it’s something active like going for a cycle, swim or dance session, or journaling, painting, drawing. I don’t know what works for you but find that one thing to turn to that will definitely cheer you up.
Every university has a counselling department you can speak to. If you need help to change accommodation, if you have any issues with roommates. Or if deadlines are getting you down. Or if you simply need someone to talk to. Remember that a support system is there for you to take advantage of, you don’t need to feel alone. If you don’t want to talk to a counsellor, there are other people you can talk to, a lecturer, or your admissions department, reach out to someone. They will be open to talk to you if you need it, don’t feel like you have to go through how you are feeling alone.
Try to get to the bottom of why you are feeling this way. Everybody will feel the homesickness at some point in their life. But if there is something else going on – problems with your course, the university, struggling with money, travel or anything. Figure out potential resolutions and things won’t seem that bad. If you are struggling with money, talk to your bank about extending your overdraft or ask them tips for managing your finances. Issues with your course, if you want to change classes, or drop some, discuss this with someone before it is too late! You don’t want to stay doing a course you are unhappy with, it will reflect in your work if you aren’t passionate about it.
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