<p>“Paranoid mom” is a redundent statement. Mom on its own will sufice! ;)</p>
<p>“…she thinks I won’t eat properly, I won’t sleep properly, the flight is way too long, I can’t carry my luggage by myself, I can’t take care of myself when I’m sick, I’ll ignore her, I’ll waste money, etc… (the list of her worries goes on and on and on)…”</p>
<p>The key here is “I’ll ignore her”. Convince her that you won’t and all will be fine. </p>
<p>This said, are you sure you can overcome homesickness? I know it affected me negatively when I went to boarding school.</p>