Frosh Convos: Homesickness

Most freshmen get hit with the homesickness bug at some point. The timing is unpredictable and different for everyone, but fall is pretty typical. The novelty of college life has worn off a bit, the weight of the workload has sunk in, and the reality that this is a new chapter of life is apparent. 

First, a few facts about homesickness:

• Homesickness isn’t directly related to distance. Students going to college close to home might have homesickness just like a student who has gone far away – it has just as much to do with missing the routines and familiarity of home as it does with distance.

• Staying busy can help with homesickness.

• There is no one-size-fits-all solution. For some students, more Facetime sessions and texts will help, but for others that might just make it harder.

If your student is experiencing homesickness, here are a few things you can do. Remember that you are the best judge of what will help your student.

• Adhere to a regular communication plan. If your practice is to Facetime twice a week, stick with that. If your student reaches out more it is great to be available, but checking in on them more often than your normal routine might make the situation worse.

• Encourage your student to stay busy. Ask what they have planned in the next week.

• Ask your student if they have any requests when they are next home - anything they want to do or want to eat, for example. 

• Ask your student what is helpful to them. Is a family Facetime a good idea? Perhaps with everyone playing a game together? If they would enjoy that, great. If not, stick to texting funny memes and Wordle grids in the family group chat.

A familiar theme around here is that freshman year is the biggest transition, and things tend to get easier from this point on - for both students and parents.