Guys, it’s okay to be homesick

Leaving home for the first time and jumping right into a new life with new people, a new environment, and maybe even a different country or language can be terrifying.

Yes, embarking on this new journey, all on your own, without family and friends, is fucking scary and it will probably cause you some major feelings of homesickness at some point during your academic career.

We’ve all been through it and yet everyone tries to pretend that they don’t feel a little bit homesick at uni.  It’s that nasty feeling that creeps in on the worst occasions, making you feel sick and uncomfortable, and maybe even making you question whether it was the right decision to move away from home into a completely new environment.

Homesickness is a topic nobody really wants to talk about because people often think that missing your parents or friends at home equals some kind of weakness. But believe me when I tell you that being homesick is nothing to be ashamed of. It is a process that we’re all going through sooner or later, but that doesn’t make us weak, it just makes us human.

’It’s okay not to be okay’- not every day at uni is always going to be awesome, and there will definitely be times where you won’t be happy all day every day , because sometimes on bad days homesickness takes over and you just prefer spending your Friday night on Skype with your parents rather than downing half a bottle of vodka at pre-drinks with your flatmates.

After all, we’re all in the same boat, everybody has bad days sometimes. Being at uni, away from the environment you’ve been used to is hard, it’s emotionally challenging and exhausting, and it’s fine to feel homesick at times. It’s okay to miss your family and friends, it’s totally normal and a feeling that everyone will experience at some point. We’ve asked people at Sussex to share their experiences with homesickness.

Vedika, Media & Communications:

‘I feel like homesickness is kind of a taboo topic and that’s really sad because no one should be afraid to acknowledge missing home, people should feel free to talk about their feelings. I miss my family and close friends a lot, especially on my birthday, as I was always used to have them around on that special occasion.’

Margherita, Economics:

‘I think that it’s completely normal to feel homesick and, as any other feeling, it shouldn’t be something to be ashamed of! I felt homesick before I settled down here for example. I think it’s a stronger feeling if you don’t feel completely comfortable with where you are.’

Franziska, Economics & International Relations:

‘I usually feel homesick during the first few weeks of University after the holidays. You come back and you realise how much you miss your own bed, your parents or your hometown. It’s a perfectly normal thing to feel in my eyes and I also feel like it’s a good thing learning how to deal with it as it makes you grow as a person’

Jacky, Physics:

‘I get homesick when I’m very stressed or when I’m ill, because that’s when I would want my mum to look after me, but I don’t think that’s anything to be ashamed of because almost everyone feels like that from time to time.’