I keep hearing the same advice. Don't go back home within the first thirty days of college. I have a lot of thoughts on this.
I don't have a choice. I am going to another coast of the country. I can't come home unless it is a long break like Thanksgiving or Christmas. Even if I wanted to come for a weekend, I would have no way of paying for my plane ride home.
I think this is great advice. I encourage everyone to follow this, and even though I am kind of stuck either way, I think this will make the transition better.
Like I have talked about in my other posts, I am horrified of going to college. It is going to be very scary. But it will be a good kind of uncomfortable. I think being so far away will force me to handle homesickness head on. My friends have already talked about how they will be going home the first weekend of college, in my opinion, that doesn't set you up for success. A teacher told us a story about how her roommate went home every weekend of their first month, and then dropped out because they were so homesick and wanted to come home. I don't think this would happen to everyone, but I think it does change your experience. Real life doesn't include going to your childhood home all the time. You need to grow and find new experiences that feel like home. How will you ever start new chapters of life if you still anchor yourself to one setting?
This doesn't mean I won't be texting my family every day. Because I definitely will. This also doesn't mean I won't miss my mom. I know I am going to be missing her a lot. She is my favorite person in the world, and it is hard to imagine my day to day without her. But I think this is just the season of life I am in. I am not going to be living at home anymore. That is really scary. But good.
I think if we all make small goals for ourselves, we can do it. Challenge yourself. Two weeks without going home. Then do the next two weeks. That is one month! I think everyone can surprise themselves with what they can handle.
HOMESiCK art Pinterest