I’m not the kind of gal who gets homesick too easily, but there was one point during my first year at college when I did get a little homesick. I blame it on the fact that I was getting tired of the dining hall food and thus eating pizza for almost every meal, which sounds like a good idea, but actually made me feel a little sick after awhile. To combat homesickness, I went on Youtube and searched up a video of someone making 煎饼 (jiān bǐng), my favourite Chinese street food. I admit that it did little to help, but a little help it did!

I tried to come up with a few more effective ways to combat homesickness and thought I’d share it with y’all. It’s that time of year when students start missing home a bit. Stay strong, fall break is only a week away!

Call friend or family

Make it a video call for some extra oomph. It might not be as good as actually being with your friends and family from back home, but it can comforting to simply see and talk to them, and hear their loving and encouraging words.

Keep yourself busy

With work or activities. There’s definitely enough of either in college! That way, you won’t have very much time to dwell on your homesickness. Time will pass faster than you know it! Exercise is a good way to get those endorphins pumping for a natural high.

Have some comfort food

For me, I can always count on Chinatown to have what I need, from bubble tea to noodles to sesame soup! Food from your culture might not be within arms reach, but you can look for delivery, make a quick trip into the city for it, or cook it up yourself in the SGA kitchen!

Write a letter to yourself

Do this before you are homesick. Write a letter to yourself for when you’re homesick, so when you’re feeling that way, you can pull out your letter for guidance. You know yourself best after all! You can write letters to your future self for any occasion really, not just homesickness!

All that said, as much as you might be missing home, try your best to stay present and be open to new relationships here. Otherwise, you might miss something spectacular!

How do you deal with homesickness?