"Being homesick is a kind of sick..."

"Being homesick is a kind of sick..." is one of my favorite lines from the Big Band Theory. When I came back to campus from winter break, I was extremely homesick. I just had a great holiday, so of course I was missing my family. The thing you do not know about me is that I am VERY close to majority of my family. I love spending time with my parents, aunts, cousins, grandparents, etc. Usually when I come back to campus I am not super home sick, only just a little. This time I was extremely homesick. I could not understand why but I did what I usually did to "cure" homesickness. Then I realized I could write out my tips about "curing" homesickness! I hope these tips/suggestions help you when you might get homesick someday.

-Having a pet. My campus does not allow me to have a pet so instead I have 2 "pet" cacti. My first one was a gift from a good friend of mine from when they went to Arizona. The cactus's name is Marcus. Recently he has made a new friend from when my grandma gave me a new cactus. I named her Penelope. I know this might seem silly but having a pet or plant as a pet can help. Taking care of it distracts you from missing loved ones from far away.

Penelope, my pet cactus, helping me with this post.

Joking of course! She wrote it all ;)

-Alone time. Yes you heard me correctly. Alone time! Not just wallowing away in sadness over missing someone but borrow a dvd from a friend and watch it. Read a book. Pick up a hobby. Learning to be happy alone is key to being ok with being homesick.

-Spending time with friends. Get out of your place to meet them!

-Meeting new people. Even if you have friends in the area, it is always great to meet some new faces and learning about them.

-Being busy, busy, busy! Get involved in something new around town. I started to volunteer this week. I did it to give back to the community and meet new people but it ended up "curing" my homesickness. I was just so excited to be able to tell all my family back home how much fun I had while volunteering.

-Remembering the people you miss want you to be happy. Give them a call and share with them how you are doing and all the new adventures you are having (like how I will call and tell them about my volunteering).

I hope theses helped. Just living your life helps you from missing people.

Have a great day everyone!