Battling homesickness: How to make Columbia your home away from home

It doesn’t matter how many miles separate your dorm room and wherever you call home; we all miss home-cooked meals, a comfortable (non-Twin XL) bed, and most importantly, not having to share a bathroom. Upperclassmen will totally deny it, but we’ve all had our fair share of mental breakdowns FaceTiming our moms.

Whether you admit it or not, we all miss home. How do you deal with that? Spectrum has got you covered! Read on for some tips on how to overcome your homesickness!

Don’t stay in your room 24/7

Staying in your room, especially when your roommate isn’t there, can become very toxic. Unless you’re intensely studying, sitting idly in your room won’t do you any good and will only increase any feelings of loneliness. Explore campus! There are around 30 (yes, THIRTY) libraries across Barnard and Columbia, which gives you a lot of uncharted territory to explore. Explore Broadway as well! There are many little coffee shops that you can visit to do your FY Writing/Lit Hum reading to make whatever dreary texts you’re reading more enjoyable. Soon enough, you’ll end up finding your optimal study spots!

Social media doesn’t reflect reality

Instagram and Snapchat can be very deceptive. Don’t forget that posts that people put up only reflect a very small part of their day. Your high school friends posting all about their new, ~edgy~ college friends doesn’t mean that they’ve quickly settled down and are having the best of fun already. Nobody is going to post about being lonely in their dorm room, so take what you see on the Internet with a grain of salt! Anyone who posts more than five Instagram stories a day can’t be taken seriously anyway.

Keep in touch! (but not too much)

Call your family! Keeping in touch with family and friends is super important! Although college is all about severing ties with home, you should be able to still feel connected to your family and friends back home. Make sure to find a balance. Calling your family five times a day might be a bit too extreme, but not calling at all shouldn’t become a habit.

Join clubs/organizations—find your niche

Finding an organization or club to dedicate your time to will allow you to make new friends who share the same interests as you, which will probably keep your brain from dwelling on how much you miss your family. Alternatively, you could find a new hobby and step out of your comfort zone. Building a social network through clubs will fill up your free time and quickly, you’ll find your new “home away from home.”

Use campus resources

If it really becomes too overwhelming for you, or if you just need somebody to talk to, reach out! Homesickness can develop into something much more serious, so if it starts interfering with classwork or other commitments, you should definitely use campus resources. At Columbia, you can book an appointment at the Counseling and Psychological Services to talk to a professional. At Barnard, the Rosemary Furman Counseling Center is available to students for appointments. Nightline, an anonymous peer listening service, is also available to all Barnumbia students between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Just know that you’re not alone and that there will always be someone to reach out to!

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https://www.columbiaspectator.com/spectrum/2018/09/30/battling-homesickness-how-to-make-columbia-your-home-away-from-home/