Excerpt: My parents loved college, and they were always talking about how much they wished they could go back. We got to move in on the day 2022 and my dad said he could just walk around the campus for hours and get lost in the libraries. While my dad was feeling all of that, I had a pit in the bottom of my stomach that told me I was going to be very homesick. Little did I know that no one could have prepared such a homebody for such a vast change. The next couple of months were going to be some of the roughest. Now, as a freshman in college a month away from summer, I’m here to share some of my story and a few tips on how you can get through it.
I believe that no matter how far from home you go, most people have trouble adjusting to college. It’s a drastic change that comes out of left field even though you’ve been preparing for it your whole life. There’s just no way you could fully prepare yourself for the change. Life is very different at college. You’re on your own and no matter how exciting that seems, it can and will get a little lonely. You have free range, but you also notice all the little things that actually make home special. Many people found it difficult to not have their mom by their side doing their laundry or dishes. Others missed home-cooked meals and their pets. No matter who you are, I bet you could find one thing that you miss about home. Nevertheless, college is fun, I promise, and you will learn to love it for all that it has to offer.
Now, most of the transition is just going to take time and there’s really nothing else you can do to speed up the process. Our bodies are very used to one way of life and they need some breathing room to adjust to the new way. This time period is different for everyone and for me it took about two months. However, there were many things that I did and did not do during those months that helped the process.
For starters, call you parents or friends and confide in them, but give yourself boundaries as well. As hard as this is to hear, it’s healthy to give yourself time to get adjusted and not to harp on life back at home. This is your own journey and no one else can do it for you, so you really have to find what works for you. I found it more beneficial to confide in the friends at school who may be going through something similar. This meant that I felt better knowing that someone was going through something similar and that we could get through it together. Your parents can only do so much for you, so many miles away.
You have to find what you like to do at college. At Virginia Tech, we have a fair that displays all the clubs and activities on campus. I did my research ahead of time and went into this fair knowing at least three clubs that I wanted to join. Colleges have clubs for everything. There’s also a rec center on most college campuses and many have workout classes for students. I loved going to the cycle classes at my rec center and just getting lost in the music. There are so many ways to enjoy a college campus you just have to find what works for you.
The transition from home to college is never easy, and it’s not black and white either. It’s confusing and many people get lost in the midst of it all. I encourage you to keep going and trust the process as annoying as that saying is. In due time, it will all make more sense.