Being away at school sometimes gets depressing, deciding to go to college in another country, meant being away from family and a familiar place for months at a time.

It’s not that a miss my hometown or the house I grew up in necessarily, to be honest I don’t think I would ever go back, but the feeling of home is what I miss.  Although college is fun, it always feels temporal, for obvious reasons. Dorms never really feel like home, and sometimes you need that safe and stable place to come home to after a long day.

Now, I’m not saying I don’t like the dorms. Although sharing a room, a bathroom and specially eating cafeteria food 24/7 can get annoying fast. But it is also fun, you’re living with your friends, you’re indecent, finally (sort of), and you create memories you can hold on to for life. Suddenly Tuesday nights can be really fun, something that would never really happen when I lived with my parents, it is all part of the experience, anyone who can should give it a try.

But after doing this for one 3 years, it does get old. Here at mercy, most people that go to mercy and somewhat locals. A majority of the students who dorm, are fairly close to home, so the possibility of going back for a few nights it’s always there. Most of my friends go home for the weekend once in a  while, and I think it’s because they feel like I do, and need a break.

But when you’re a international student, or live on the other side of the country, that’s not an option. I basically come to School in September, and never get that feeling of home until I go back in December for christmas break.

Being a senior, and the older I get, I realize I crave more and more that feeling of home. Moving every couple of months sounds really fun at first but after years of doing it, it’s almost like your mind craves some stability. I’m sure students in my position can relate to that feeling, at least once a while.

However, I have realized that there are ways of making it easier on you, after all I can’t really go back for the weekend considering plane tickets are around $800. So this is how I basically survived the last 3 years:

Homemade food, cafeteria food sucks, like really really bad, no one should have to eat that everyday for every meal. Grocery shopping and cooking once a while it’s not only worth it but necessary. Not only you can get sick if you eat fast food all the time, but good food can literally make you happy so might as well. Going out to eat or ordering something is nice too but there is really nothing like a home cooked meal.

FaceTime or Skype, being away doesn’t mean disappearing from the face of the earth. A quick call makes you feel at home, and not to mention your family would probably appreciate you letting them know you’re still alive.

New Friends, at first I felt so close to my old high school friends but truth is, you’re likely to outgrow some people. College is the time to find yourself do your own thing, but it can also mean meeting new people and forming friendships that would last a lifetime. I’ve become so close to some of my friends that they’re the closest thing I have to family here.

Make your dorm feel homey, although a door will always look like a dorm, but at least making it feel like your own place keep me sane, at least I have a nice place to come back to after class.

Go Out, this one might be obvious but staying in your room all day really does’t help, being in a new place means you get to explore, to take advantage of that. Even going for a walk puts me in a good mood, a change of scenery is good once a while.

Although college is fun and you should enjoy the experience, it’s ok to feel a little homesick sometimes. Being so far away by yourself can be overwhelming. Overall, I’ve loved the experienced, but it can get depressing sometimes. College is all about transitioning from being a teen into adulthood, so there is no need to have everything figured our just yet.