Avoiding Homesickness at University/College

Hi again! Lisa here! It’s been a while since I wrote my last blog but you can check it out here. It’s nearing the end of my first year now and I thought I’d give you some pointers on how to avoid homesickness when here at Reaseheath.

When being away from home, it is understanding to be a little bit homesick. You tend to miss your family, friends, pets and general everyday life that you would be used to. I definitely miss my family and my pets, especially my dog Bertie. However, to overcome this homesickness, staying busy helps. From doing assignments and revision for my degree to coming down to the bar to take part in bar quizzes or socials, everything helps to keep my mind off the homesickness that I may be feeling. Another thing that helps me out is by spending time at the zoo or in surroundings where I feel happy.

Alongside this there is the student association which you can join. When being part of the student association you get to help out with events, take part in fundraising activities and have a feel that you are making a difference in the college. When I joined the student association, I joined as a general and worked my way up through being a campaigns project officer, evening entertainments officer and now to Vice President of Entertainments. Being a part of the student association has allowed me to bond with a lot of people and the SA is now more of a family group. Through doing the events and activities that I do currently, I haven’t had time to feel as homesick as I was at the beginning of the year.

Another top-tip is to bring items that will make you feel at home to help your room a place that you feel comfortable. For some, these objects could be things like washing powder or air fresheners to make your room smell like home and for others, it could be the giant teddy that sits in the corner of your room!

Here at Reaseheath College, the departments support the students in everyway that they can and this can include helping them through homesickness. An example of this is the canine department as they offer canine therapy where you can book an appointment (free of charge) with one of our wonderful dogs and have a hug and chill out with the canine pals. It is safe to say that this is very effective to a lot of students.

Keeping in touch with home and arranging visits is also important! No matter how far away you live, once it’s booked in the diary it will give you something to look forward to. Facetime and Skype are great for this. Remember – your friends will be in a similar boat at their universities/colleges.

When you come to Reaseheath, it is like being apart of a community. It will become a second home to you after being here for a while. Homesickness is a hard issue that can affect people in different ways and for different lengths of time, however with all the support from tutors, safeguarding, student services and your new friendship groups, I am sure you will feel at home in no time at all!

About The Author

My name is Lisa. I am a 19-year-old from a place called Harpenden, Hertfordshire and I have chosen to study Zoo Management here at University Centre Reaseheath(despite being allergic to both dogs and cats!). here is always something to take part in such as bingo, dance classes, or even being hypnotised! The student association play a massive role in student life as they help provide the entertainment and sort out and run events for the students.

Check out my previous blog here!