Spring Break
Homesickness may get best of students
Students encouraged to get involved on campus to fight winter-time college blues
Kayla Durham
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: News
It's that time in the term when school is starting to get the best of students. Late night study sessions are becoming normal, and wild nights are starting to take their toll.
Students may also be feeling bouts of homesickness. Spending seven weeks in a new place can be exciting but also difficult at the same time.
Kris Winter, director of New Student Programs and Family Outreach, said the newness of being somewhere different starts to wear off by this time.
"Students realize the day-to-day reality of being in college," Winter said. "This can bring comfort to a student or homesickness for the way their life use to be."
College is a time of adjustment. Students are not only in a new place, but they are facing bigger responsibilities. Some may yearn for the structured simplicity of high school.
"Home is a comfortable place," said Amy Jo Williams, a licensed psychologist at Counseling And Psychological Services.
"People feel like they have roots and a history there," Williams said. "It takes a while to build this same connection to a new place."
Winter suggests that students join a club or sport to gain connections on campus.
"If you keep your mind and body active, you are less likely to think about home," Winter said. "In addition, you are gaining friends and a community on campus."
Another approach to fighting homesickness is inviting your family and friends to come visit.
"It's important to share your college experience with people from back home," Winter said. "It's a bad idea to go home and visit them. This happens a lot with freshmen. They don't feel connected here, so they end up going home every weekend."
Shannel Pagador, a freshman majoring in pre-med, sometimes misses her island home of Oahu.
"The biggest challenge for me is meeting new people and the cold weather," Pagador said. "I sometimes miss home, but it's not bad. If I'm feeling a little homesick I just call my family and look at pictures of Oahu on my laptop."
Winter says adding touches of home to your dorm room or apartment is a good way to make Corvallis more cozy. She also suggests sharing your culture with others if you are from a different country. "Reminding yourself of your home is important; you just can't dwell on it too much," Winter said.
"The biggest way to conquer homesickness is by creating connections with the community and people in Corvallis," Winter said. "If you can do that, then you are set."
Kayla Durham, news writer
news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231
Students may also be feeling bouts of homesickness. Spending seven weeks in a new place can be exciting but also difficult at the same time.
Kris Winter, director of New Student Programs and Family Outreach, said the newness of being somewhere different starts to wear off by this time.
"Students realize the day-to-day reality of being in college," Winter said. "This can bring comfort to a student or homesickness for the way their life use to be."
College is a time of adjustment. Students are not only in a new place, but they are facing bigger responsibilities. Some may yearn for the structured simplicity of high school.
"Home is a comfortable place," said Amy Jo Williams, a licensed psychologist at Counseling And Psychological Services.
"People feel like they have roots and a history there," Williams said. "It takes a while to build this same connection to a new place."
Winter suggests that students join a club or sport to gain connections on campus.
"If you keep your mind and body active, you are less likely to think about home," Winter said. "In addition, you are gaining friends and a community on campus."
Another approach to fighting homesickness is inviting your family and friends to come visit.
"It's important to share your college experience with people from back home," Winter said. "It's a bad idea to go home and visit them. This happens a lot with freshmen. They don't feel connected here, so they end up going home every weekend."
Shannel Pagador, a freshman majoring in pre-med, sometimes misses her island home of Oahu.
"The biggest challenge for me is meeting new people and the cold weather," Pagador said. "I sometimes miss home, but it's not bad. If I'm feeling a little homesick I just call my family and look at pictures of Oahu on my laptop."
Winter says adding touches of home to your dorm room or apartment is a good way to make Corvallis more cozy. She also suggests sharing your culture with others if you are from a different country. "Reminding yourself of your home is important; you just can't dwell on it too much," Winter said.
"The biggest way to conquer homesickness is by creating connections with the community and people in Corvallis," Winter said. "If you can do that, then you are set."
Kayla Durham, news writer
news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231
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