If you're thinking of studying abroad or are already in a foreign country for your higher studies, you may be familiar with the term homesickness. It is a feeling you get when you're in an unfamiliar culture and miss everything from food, family, friends to culture, language and festivals in your home country. While it is natural to experience homesickness, it is also manageable with a few tips.
Instead of feeling angry, anxious, sad and helpless, you can overcome homesickness effectively. Many college students have dealt with it effectively and so can you.
In this blog, we'll tell you 11 practical tips to overcome homesickness. Let's start.
Don’t Frequently Talk With Your Family
It is natural to want to talk to your family and friends back home when you're feeling homesick. However, don't do it too frequently as it will only make you feel worse. If you talk with them too frequently (daily), it's normal to feel left out because you can't be with them.
Talk to them once or twice a week and try staying connected with them through social media as well. We know doing it initially is challenging but it will get better with time.
Stay Connected With Your College Friends
Just like your family and friends back home, staying connected with your college friends can help you feel better. They are the people who understand what you're going through and provide the support you need.
You don't have to be best friends with them but just having an occasional chit-chat can do the trick. You never know you can find a friend who thinks and feels like you. And when you find such a friend, make sure to not let them go. Taking people for granted is a bad option because no one wants to feel like the second option.
Get Involved in College Activities
When you're feeling homesick, it is natural to withdraw from things. However, that's not the solution. Instead, get involved in college activities and meet new people. There are a lot of opportunities to get involved on campus and off-campus. College provides a great opportunity to explore new things you never knew existed. From sports to theatre, you can get involved in many things.
Many students don't know what interests them, which is why it is crucial to try new things. Things can randomly click and give you a new career opportunity. College is a great time to explore and find out what you want to do in life. No one is judging you in college for your choices. So, make them freely and stop thinking that anyone will judge you because everyone is focused on their growth.
Make A Bucket List Of Places To Explore
When you're feeling homesick, make a bucket list of places to explore in your city or another city nearby. When you think of yourself as a tourist, you change your entire perspective. You can choose some places that you want to visit for sure. You can also think that you have limited time in the country because that will keep you excited about all the activities you'd do.
It is also a great way to meet new people. College students are always looking for new places to explore and make memories. When you have a list, it gives you something to look forward to. So make a list, put some dates next to them and start exploring.
Send Something Home
It is an amazing feeling when you send gifts back home. It feels like you are a part of the family and that they are missing you as much as you're missing them. When you're feeling homesick, sending something home will make you feel better.
You can choose to send electronic devices, Souvenirs, clothes or the age ol' letters. Just the act of sending something makes you happy and connected to your loved ones thousands of miles away from you.
When you send something to your home, your family gets reassured that everything is alright with you. And this simple feeling is very relieving.
Start a College Blog
When you're feeling homesick, start a college blog and write about your experiences. College provides a great opportunity to learn new things and share them with the world. It's a great way to connect with people who are in the same boat as you and also helps your family feel connected to your experiences.
There is a lot you can write about - the classes you're taking, the people you meet, the places you explore. College is a great time to start writing and see where it takes you.
If you struggle with assignment writing or writing in general, you need to start writing daily because doing it regularly is the best way to become good at it. When you finally start seeing results, you'll start getting better scores in assignments, helping you have a good reputation in front of your professors and the class.
Keep A Photo Journal
Another way to connect with your family and friends back home is by keeping a photo journal. College provides a great opportunity to take amazing pictures and document your experiences. It's different from writing college blogs because you're only taking photos, whereas blogs focus more on written content and less on photos.
You can keep an offline photo journal or create social media profiles of Instagram and Facebook and share them with your friends and family. College is a great time to start documenting your life because you'll have plenty of amazing memories to look back on.
Start A Group Chat
When you're feeling homesick, start a group chat with your friends and family back home. This is a great way to connect with them and share your experiences. Nowadays, there are so many chatting platforms (WhatsApp, Telegram, SIgnal) that you could choose anyone that interests you.
The thing with group chats is that you can control the environment. You can choose to be the one who starts the conversations or just listen and read what everyone is saying. You can even share photos and videos of the country you're living in with your friends. Similarly, they can also share the same about your home country and help you stay connected with your roots.
Remind Yourself Why You’re In The Country
When you're feeling homesick, it's important to remind yourself why you're in the country. We usually forget the reason for spending lots of money on foreign education. It's natural to feel down and question your decision of studying abroad. This is why it's important to remind yourself why you're in the country in the first place. When you start feeling this way, you need to take a step back and think that whatever you're doing is for your future, career and family.
If the decision you took a few months or years back was right at that time, know that it suddenly won't become the worst decision of your life. So, stop being doubtful about your decision. You're only going through a tough time, which will eventually pass.
Engage In Your Interests
One of the best ways to forget about your homesickness is by engaging in your interests. College provides a great opportunity to explore different fields of study and find out what you're interested in. It's also a great way to meet new people with similar interests.
When you're feeling down, try attending your college's club meetings or participating in sports events. If you love football, start practicing with the college team.
Talk To Other Students
If you're feeling homesick, talk to other students who are in the same situation as you. College provides a great opportunity to connect with different people from around the world. You'll be surprised to know how many students feel the same way as you.
When you talk to others, you'll start understanding their culture and how they're coping with homesickness. Although you may think the way you're dealing with homesickness is effective, you should not be surprised if other students have different ways of dealing with it. And those other ways can be way better than you.
Conclusion
Almost every student that chooses another country for their higher studies deals with homesickness. Most students deal with it once but it's not uncommon to deal with it multiple times because anyone can miss their country at any point during their time.
Although homesickness is common, you have to make sure you don't let it take control over your life. You have to manage so many things yourself and if most of your time is spent diving deep into the memories of your home, a lot of your efforts could be wasted. So, you need to read this blog if you don't want homesickness to take hold of your life because this blog highlighted 11 practical tips that actually work.
If you liked the blog, share it with your college friends.
