For many, college can be both a rewarding and stressful experience. As a student attending Northwest Vista, I like many other students have experienced challenges in my day-to-day routine that could potentially impact my school life. School for many can create a sense of excitement and can also build up anxiety. There are many factors that could cause this, such as new surroundings, and more responsibilities when it comes to academics.
If we are moving away from home to attend school this can also add stress by having to meet new people. Even though I live in San Antonio and commute to and from the campus, I have seen several students that are not from the local area that are homesick. For some, being away from home, and having to figure life out on your own for the first time can create stressors in personal and professional lives. This can potentially cause people to have a lack of motivation, loss of focus during classes, and even depression. We can see this the most when we have students that are away from home for certain holidays. Being that San Antonio is Military City USA, we have a lot of locals that attend our school to help give advice on how to cope.
Some ways that we can overcome the stress of being homesick, is to stay in contact with people from home. As students we can also look out for one another and if we see someone that is not acting normal or looks distant. We can reach out and give them some attention even if it’s just to say hi. It is okay to be homesick, but we should balance our feelings and emotions to become productive students. Another thing we as students could do is participate in school activities to help get us involved in the community.
No one said being away from home and attending college was going to be easy, but we should be resilient to accomplish a goal and set ourselves up for a better future.
Tips to Cope from Being Away from Home
https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-college-experience/2011/09/28/5-ways-for-college-students-to-survive-being-homesick
By NVC Student Percy Bustamante Gooden
