Last week, many Bradley students got to bond with their loved ones on campus for the highly-anticipated Family Weekend.
Once every fall semester, families are invited to visit their students, attend a variety of events and catch up after a long first month of classes. As great as this is for students, after their families return home and they settle back into coursework, they might experience homesickness.
While the feeling of homesickness will not go away completely, there are activities and techniques students can apply to their lives to make things easier.
Calling home may seem obvious, but it is one way to feel closer to the place that students are missing. Seeing their faces and staying updated with family matters can make school feel less lonely. It also keeps students in the loop with what’s going on and changing back home so they don’t experience as much FOMO.
You can also make the extra effort to stay close to friend groups from home. Schedule group calls once a week to recap classes, on-campus activities and everything in between. You can make it quick or even coordinate virtual dinner parties. Group gaming is always good for having new experiences with far-away friends, too.
One of the best ways to avoid homesickness is to build a home on the Hilltop. Joining student organizations, making friends and building relationships with professors can aid in combating the feeling of homesickness. Having a home away from home can help you field those negative feelings and foster a sense of belonging.
Care packages and notes from home can be beneficial because they provide a physical reminder of home. Packages deliver a little bit of home to you, as well as some foods you can’t get from out of state.
With letters, getting a message across in text might be instantaneous, but seeing friends’ and family’s handwriting in a note can take you right back home for a moment.
Just because students may not be able to go home, does not mean they cannot bring home to the Hilltop.