It’s hard being a student at the moment. For a plethora of reasons. The switch to online learning, the limited social life, the list goes on. But one aspect in particular that isn’t being spoken about as much is home sickness. Most students who have a relationship with their family back home
It’s hard being a student at the moment. For a plethora of reasons. The switch to online learning, the limited social life, the list goes on. But one aspect in particular that isn’t being spoken about as much is home sickness. Most students who have a relationship with their family back home (in whatever capacity that means to them) will experience home sickness whilst at university, regardless of whether there is a pandemic or not. However, the pandemic has only intensified the distance that we all feel, so because of this, I thought I’d share three of my top tips on how you can manage this home sickness, when a trip home to see your loved ones is not on the cards.
Video call - or a good old phone call!
This may be an obvious one as virtually everything is in video call form nowadays, from lectures to jobs to “nights out”, but a simple video call home, whether that be to family or friends afar, can always boost your spirits and allows you to feel connected with those loved ones. It can be a great way to break up your studies, and is something to look forward to in the day. If you’re fed up of looking at a screen, a classic phone call whilst you’re on your daily walk or cooking a meal could be a great option too. This way, you will feel like you have company when going about your daily to dos. If you wanted to switch it up even more, you could do play some online games whilst on call, a great way to have some fun with those that you miss.
Plan your next trip back - whenever that may be
Yep, it’s hard to plan anything these days, but how about planning your ideal trip back for when restrictions are lifted? Make a list of all the things you want to do with your family or friends, get them involved, plan it together. It will be a great distraction and also give you something to focus on, which will allow you to power through those studies.
Spend time with those close to you - physically
Sometimes we miss people so much, we forget about those who are actually around us. Spend time with your housemates, go on walks with friends or peers nearby. It could be a good excuse to get chatting to someone from uni that you might not spend a lot of time with, a course mate perhaps that you don’t get to see often now that lectures are online. Make the effort to see those around you, and again, this could a be a great distraction from all that is going on in the world right now.