Almost 1,500 miles away from home, journalism freshman Alana Osborne wakes up each morning missing the clouds and the cold of her hometown of Mercer Island, Wash. Osborne is experiencing what countless college freshmen nationwide experience each year — homesickness.
The transition from high school to college often brings longing for the familiarity of home.
According to the Homesickness Help page of ASU’s Counseling and Consultation, it is important for freshmen and other new students to remember that homesickness, “is a natural response to a new change in environment.”
Counseling and Consultation recommends students get involved with extracurricular activities, display familiar items when decorating a new living space, and keep in touch with friends and family while trying to limit the visits home.
Criminal justice freshman Zach Peiffer, from Belgium, Wis., pointed out the excitement of new friends and a new school year.
“Most of my new friends are out-of-state students with a lot from California,” Peiffer said.
Like Peiffer, Osborne also noticed that, as an out-of-state student, she has bonded with others sharing the same situation.
“I found that they can relate to the idea of being away from home,” Osborne said. “We can all team up and become a family and support each other.”
Journalism freshman, Michael Smith, from Orlando, Fla., said he mostly misses his family. His advice for other freshmen experiencing homesickness is to get out and meet people.
“Jumping into it you meet everyone at once,” Smith said. “Don’t stay in your dorm and expect to meet people, just be nice and be yourself.”
ASU is one of the largest schools in the country with around 56,000 undergraduates, according to College Board.
College Board is an organization that connects students with colleges and provides financial support and scholarships. Of ASU’s first-year enrollment, 33 percent are out-of-state students, according to College Board.
“There is so much to take advantage of, it is kind of overwhelming,” Osborne said. “You are trying to establish your niche here. It’s hard to know where to put yourself. I figure in due time I’ll learn.”
For freshmen and other new students experiencing homesickness and other similar ailments, the Counseling and Consultation centers on all four campuses can provide phone consultations, scheduled sessions as well as walk-in appointments, according to the Homesickness Help page.
Reach the reporter at newlin.tillotson@asu.edu
