Coping with Homesickness: Finding a Home on Campus

I can almost guarantee you will feel a sense of homesickness at least once when you go to college.
I’m halfway through my time here at Auburn and I still go through periods when I miss my life I left behind in high school. But it’s important to combat this feeling and make a home for yourself on campus. Join me as I share some of my tips for coping with homesickness in college.
Keep in Contact
There is huge value in a text or a call every now and then. When you move away from home it can be easier to never text or call the people you leave behind, but this is a straight path to homesickness. Keeping in contact with your family and hometown friends is one of the best ways to stay connected to the life you left with them. I call my mom just about every day and I try my best to reach out to the friends that didn’t follow me to college. Just because we move away, it doesn’t mean the chapter we spent at home should disappear. There’s just a little bit of comfort in the short conversations with the people we grew up with and it allows us to put ourselves back in that time for a few minutes.
Make and Effort with Your New Friends
Once you find the friends you feel are going to stick around, don’t get too comfortable with their relationship. All of us as college students need social interaction and the comfort of knowing we have someone in our corner. Make an effort to hang out with the new friends you make and really get to know them. Have weekly dinners or movie nights here and there to maintain and grow the relationships you create. In a way, rebuild the circle you had back at home and carry it through college to create a new home that you can grow in.
Step out of Your Comfort Zone
College is an uncomfortable space. But finding comfort in the uncomfortable is essential to creating a home for yourself here on campus. Put yourself out there and join a club you wouldn’t normally join. Find new interests that you’ve never explored before and explore them. Creating a space that you aren’t used to will present so many new people to you allowing you to build your relationships and learn from people that don’t necessarily think like you do. Creating relationships with people all over campus that aren’t necessarily in your foundational friend group is exciting and can add a little more purpose to your days. For me, finding people with the same interests as me allowed me to find a comfort I can’t always find in my friend group just because we are involved in different things. Having more people to interact with takes away a little of the homesick feeling you get when you can’t find anyone to understand something you’re going through.
Move On
It sounds harsh, but the realest advice I could give you about homesickness is to move on. It’s time to start a new chapter in your life. It’s scary and will come with ups and downs, but leaning away from the comfort of your family and hometown will help you grow and learn things about yourself you never knew before. Just know that it’s okay to start fresh and create a new home for yourself. There’s no reason to feel guilty for leaving anything behind. The longer you sit in the comfort of the home you left, the harder it will be to create a new one.
Homesickness is inevitable, but it isn’t so bad when you’re able to build a new home on campus. Put yourself out there, create real relationships with your friends, and don’t throw away the relationships you left behind. It’s time to learn what you can about yourself and create a new life and new home.
Be Well, Auburn.

Molly was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama. Despite a family full of Alabama fans, a brief tour of Auburn’s campus captivated her heart, and she soon embraced the vibrant atmosphere and welcoming community. Initially unsure of her path, Molly began her college career as a journalism major. After one year at an SEC school, however, she quickly discovered her passion for sports, specifically basketball. Now a sports production major, she hopes to work with Auburn Athletics following graduation.
When she's not busy with work or classes, you can find Molly at a basketball or soccer game, enjoying a movie marathon, spending time with her close friends, or driving down the road to visit her parents. In the next few years, Molly aims to remain involved on campus and continue to learn all she can about the sports industry... and, of course, graduate!