Everything you feel when you’re a homesick college student

Distance makes the heart grow fonder

Whether you live an hour or 1,000 miles away from school, you’re bound to miss your home. Morning kisses from your dog and having breakfast with your whole family – you miss those little details which become such a big part of your life. The smallest reasons can trigger memories of the life you once lead and man, do you miss it sometimes.

Sure, you’re independent and finding your way now, but that homely, warm and fuzzy feeling seems distant sometimes. All you want to do is put on your comfy socks and take a walk down memory lane. Here’s what it feels like to be a truly homesick college student.

Understanding family is family 

As much as you probably wanted to distance yourself from them, you miss your parents the most. You miss your mom’s constant nagging to clean your room and brush your teeth. Your dad’s annoying jokes and fun facts now bring a smile to your face. And after a long day of lectures and homework, all you want to do is snuggle into a blanket and watch your favorite childhood TV shows with them, while gently bullying your younger siblings.

Knowing that nothing beats a home cooked meal

Even UCLA’s spectacular culinary options can’t beat your mom’s handmade tacos. You crave that homemade lemonade and dearly miss the smell of those surprise cookies and brownies. You miss your hometown’s food and the happiness of getting your favorite sandwich from the local street vendor.

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Subtly comparing your new friends to your old ones 

You love all the unique people you’ve met at school now and are so glad you get to call them friends. But every now and then, a small inside joke or a trip you took with your best friends from home will come back to you and make you want to relive those days. You miss your favorite hang-out spots at the nearby park or the cute café around the corner. You reminisce cracking jokes about high school teachers and going out to the mall to complete a “project.” Most of all, you miss being just a car ride away from the people you grew up with.

Missing your shower, of all things

Let’s face it – you miss your own shower with your favorite curtains and all the concerts you’ve hosted because of the rock star that you are. The showers here are great, but they don’t adjust the water to just the right temperature like your own does.

Missing the cute little balls of fur who took over most of your house

However arrogant your cat was or destructive your dog, you miss them insanely. You miss having them cuddle into your bed every night or put their cute little paws on your lap. Skype sessions with your pet are the best part of your week but it really doesn’t even come close to the real thing.

Finding order in the chaos that is your room

That time of the night between sleeping and waking up, you are transported back to your comfy bed back home and posters of your favorite bands and stars hanging on your wall. That huge pile of laundry you promised you’d put away yesterday has finally been folded and placed into your cupboard, courtesy of your mother.

Reliving songs and shows which give you major feels

Every time ‘Love Story’ by Taylor Swift plays, you’re transported back to middle school and you miss jamming with your friends. The tune for Disney channel makes you miss all your favorite shows and characters as a child. Listening to songs in your mother tongue bring tears to your eyes and all you want to do is get drunk and listen to those songs on repeat.

You’re no longer on a familiar road

You miss wandering about those streets you could now traverse blindly. You miss your neighborhood and all the cute (but kind of lame) events your community used to put together. You miss that ice-cream place and that adorable little stationary store you bought your favorite pens from. You miss getting lost in your thoughts during your way to the grocery store and bumping into familiar faces.

Memories are lost in translation

If English isn’t your mother tongue, you’ve probably caught yourself mixing in little tidbits of your own language into your speech. You often feel like you can only express yourself in your mother tongue and miss bickering in it. To make up for it, you end up teaching a lot of your foreign friends some slang in your own language.

You learn to love your home away from home

To overcome all the angst of being so far away from home, you diligently attend culture nights and celebrate all the festivals you got bored of back home. You FaceTime your friends and family as often as you can and look at pictures from the old days. You cherish those times until you realize that you’re not really that far from home. You’ve found a new extended family, a new favorite cuisine and a bunch of cute little pets. Even though these will never take the place of your old life, they supplement your personality and make you a little more you.

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