Homesickness

Dear My Perspective,

I am soooooo homesick! I just started college, and everything that can go wrong has. I have gotten off to a bad start with some people, and found out some other bad news. I am just miserable. I have no one to talk to, and I can't call anyone (no cellphone, and I can't get the telephone hooked up til i can get the money). I keep crying on and off. I am just so miserable. I want to go home. I know i can't though. So how can I get over the homesickness?

Signed,
Homesick.

Dear Homesick,

College can be a pretty painful experience, in the beginning. You spend over a decade living your life one way, with certain people...and now you must uproot and put yourself into a new environment...and unknown one.

There are 4 types of homesicknesses.

1. Initial Homesickness
This type is brought on by the sheer fact that you are in a new environment. You are in an unfamiliar place, and you have yet to become accustomed to any of it, so you long for the familiarity.

2. Boredom Homesickness
In this one, your homesickness is the result of boredom. You have nothing to do, and so you have time to just let your mind wander free, and you find yourself thinking of things that make you sad.

3. Anger/Frustration Homesickness
This type is brought on by fights, arguments, frustration. When you argue with someone, sometimes you feel isolated, and it makes you long for the "simpler" times. These same kinds of fights you have in H.S. are different because you can't go home this time. Also frustration, from things such as work can upset you, especially if you have no one to vent to.

4. Random Homesickness
This type is the result of just any random thing causing you to be homesick. It can be brought on by just about anything, from words, to actions, to just anything....

Many people suggest that in order to fight homesickness, one should keep themselves busy. Their rationale is that, if you are busy, you won't be bored, therefore you won't be homesick. But there are 2 faults with this theory. One, boredom is not the only thing that causes homesickness, and two, its impossible to always be busy, at some point one has to deal with the emotions.

Its a good idea to realize now, that one will never stop being homesick, for as long as we live, we will sometimes think about what we once knew. People don't stop having homesickness, they merely adapt with it and learn to live with it.

Right now, since its new to you, let yourself be emotional, cry. When you get busier with school, you may find yourself getting a routine going. Routines can be helpful, organization can be helpful.

How quickly you adapt to homesickness, depends on how your life is going.