Hey College Confindential,
I just needed to write to anyone today about how i’m feeling. I’m over 500 miles away from home, and I won’t be able to go home until christmas. That feels like a world away. All I want is something familiar. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss the familiarity and safety of home. I see what my friends are doing, and they don’t seem sad at all- but that being said, they are all with in half an hour of home, and see each other and family on the regular. Did I make the wrong choice? I thought that the only way to see more of the world was to head out for college, and I thought I could do it. But now i’m not so sure.
Yes I have joined groups, and made friends at college. I have tried to keep myself as busy as I can. But as much as I should be happy, im not. I just want to see some familiar face, or have a hug from my mother. I just want to see the trees and the weather that I’m used too. So heres my question for you: does it get better? will I learn to love where I am, and learn to live on my own? I don’t have much of a choice at this point- but it would be some comfort to know that things will get better. Or will they not. Will I be forever stuck missing a life that I can never have? Will my family and friends move on, and leave me all alone. 5 months feels like forever now- and i’m not even halfway. Please tell me it gets better :(.
A homesick freshman 500 mile from home
Yes, it will get better. You are doing all the right things to stay busy and engaged. The first semester can be lonely. This is a natural thing and even if you were closer to home, things would still be changing. Take care of yourself and a virtual hug.
Take a look at this excellent thread (which I just posted for another student) http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/2016222-to-those-who-feel-lonely-homesick-friendless-think-they-chose-the-wrong-school-etc-p1.html
There are many freshmen feeling this way right now!
Are your parents able to visit for parents weekend? Are you able to get home for a weekend? Maybe a quick recharge and you’ll get a boost to get you thru the semester. Yes, it gets better. Promise!
Please read this: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/2016222-to-those-who-feel-lonely-homesick-friendless-think-they-chose-the-wrong-school-etc-p1.html
This is normal and common. You will get through it. Watch the video linked in that thread.
It will get better! We offered to bring our S home for the Labor Day weekend when he was in between a summer program and the start of the fall quarter. He declined, saying that he would use the time to get to know his new “home” because the sooner it felt like home, the less homesick he would be.
Explore your area! The problem with social media is that people usually show the “good” stuff, never the boring, I-wish-I-was-somewhere-else downtimes. Your family misses you! But use this time to get to know other people, other areas, and your school. Keep yourself busy, whether through school, clubs, activities, working, etc. and you’ll be too busy to notice that you’re not homesick anymore. 
Oh my goodness…hugs to you. You are doing so great! You should be so proud of yourself and see all that you’ve accomplished already! You’re out there doing it! Good for you. The way you feel is so normal. I promise it will get better and eventually the homesick feeling will go away. I agree, there are many students right around you who feel this way. Everyone else has given you great advice. I just want to compliment you and say what a great job you are doing. Keep your head up and keep busy. Take good care of yourself - eat right, exercise, and get enough rest. Taking care of our bodies physically helps us feel better emotionally too.
I have told so many homesick young people on this website that while what you are feeling hurts, don’t completely wish it away. You feel what you feel for a very special reason, and that is because you feel loved by your family. That is a precious thing. Cherish that.
Learning to live on your own is a steep learning curve when you first get dropped off at college. There are so many things to contend with. As you become more at ease at school the rest will come along. Keep up, keep busy, dig in to your new life.
In the meantime, there’s no reason that you can’t communicate with your family frequently given the opportunities that modern technology provides. My daughter is a senior in college, over 7000 miles away from us (we live in Asia most of the year) and we still text with each other twice a day at certain times to accommodate time zone differences and that works for us. What works for you and your family will evolve.
Lastly, coping with homesickness is not a discrete thing that just ends. It’s a process where the feelings come and go over time. You might not feel it for a while then suddenly feel it strongly at later times.
I went a long way away from home for school and the one thing that is different today then back in my day is that there was no Facebook or Instagram for me to see what my family and friends were up to back home so honestly, what I didn’t know couldn’t work against me.
Yes, it get’s better and what I found is the longer I was away the more I actually didn’t want to go back home. The more time I spent on campus and around my friends at school the more it started to feel like home. You may want to limit some of your social media time checking out back home activities and just try to keep the focus on your local area and network.
I am heading back home for my 30 year HS reunion and my friends from those days are still friends even though I live several states away. Yes, people move on and lives take different paths along the way but I wouldn’t trade where I am today and the path I took for anything. Hang in there, yes it get’s better.