Keeping in Touch with Your Roots

As the routine settles and the holidays start to roll in, most international students, especially freshmen, start feeling homesickness the most. Missing home is natural. Even domestic students get homesick. International students cannot take an hour car trip home whenever they feel nostalgia. So, what can you do to manage these feelings?

I can bet that every single international student has a flag of their home country in their room. No exceptions. And this is due to a simple reason: when you cannot go home, you bring home to you. This is something you can do through music, finding other international friends whom you share country with, cooking some of your favorite home meals, etc. There’s no better way to bring home to the United States than by sharing your culture with others. Answer people’s questions and show them pictures and videos of home.

While doing all of this helps, there’s no escaping homesickness. However, you can find ways to fight it. In my opinion, the best way to do so is to always stay in touch with your loved ones back home. They’ve been a part of your life since forever and I promise they also want to be part of this new life stage you’re undergoing. Sometimes a call or a text message is more than enough. Think about going home at the end of the semester as a motivation to work hard. You would be surprised when you find out how well this strategy works. Get involved! Of course, you will get homesick if you stay in your room alone all the time. Go out with friends, join a club, or go on a stroll around the city. In the end, you will only get to experience this once. Do not let homesickness stop you from experience it to the fullest.