Living on my own means the only hug I get from my mom is through a screen and not in person.

With all its aches and pains, homesickness should be treated like any other illness, needing its treatments and remedies. 

It’s important to recognize this feeling and take care of yourself by bringing a little bit of home into your space, reaching out to friends and family and using USF’s resources. 

And it’s no secret I am not the only college student experiencing this.

“Living on your own can feel like you’re stranded,” said Brady Quinn, a sophomore out-of-state-student from Michigan majoring in mass communications. 

“I can call my family but it’s not the same,” Quinn said. “I can’t walk into my mom’s room and just talk to her. I had to learn life skills on my own without their help, for example I had to learn how to do laundry on my own.”

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For me, my childhood dream of living on my own is not as grand as I imagined.

It’s a world of a difference coming back to my apartment while being on my own versus living at home. 

Rather than being met with a warm welcome and a home-cooked meal, I am met with a cold living room, an overflowing trash can and an empty fridge. 

“It is not unusual to feel “home sick” when you first attend college,” said Marvin Karlins, a professor in the Muma College of Business who researches stress and time management. “This is particularly true if it is your first time away from your family and supportive network of friends.” 

USF’s Wellness center outlines how students who experience homesickness can feel loneliness, fatigue and increased stress and tension.

“In some cases, sudden separation from family and friends can be so disturbing that it affects the individual’s ability to concentrate and even lead to feelings of depression,” Karlins said. “This could impact their ability to do their coursework.”

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But any sickness requires treatment. 

One simple piece of advice that helped me to mitigate these feelings was bringing parts of my home into my new living space. 

I also try to make my mom’s home-cooked chili from time to time. I even have an area dedicated to family photos. 

These simple reminders of home helped to mitigate my anxiety of being in a new living space, bringing me a sense of familiarity and comfort.  

The most important step is keeping in contact with family and friends, whether it be to schedule times to see them or call them.

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I made sure to call my mom every Sunday and throughout the week, I always made sure to seek out time with my friends. 

If you’re new and in the process of making friends, this is still a great option to combat negative feelings brought on by homesickness.

“The best way to avoid the negative feelings of homesickness is to keep busy and develop new social relationships,” Karlins said. 

Great ways to do so are through Bulls Connect and New Student Connections, which offer many activities when looking to get involved on campus.

“I like making new friends, talking to them makes me feel less alone,” Quinn said. “I usually participate in sports and joined clubs to help make new friends”