Homesickness is insidious. Without even realizing it, your entire mood can be consumed by it. It is staggering, saddening, but most of all, bothersome.
For me, homesickness didn't hit me at all until early October last year. Until then, I had been having such a blast with all of my new friends at school that I didn't really feel a longing for home. Don’t get me wrong, I would have loved to hop on a plane and come home whenever I was able to, but I didn't really feel the need to.
In October, however, when college started to feel less like “camp” and more like reality, as the crisp fall air set in and the temperatures started to drop I began to long for home—not in its entirety, but in little pieces of it. I missed the smells of roasting chilies, the excitement for the Balloon Fiesta, and other of my New Mexico fall favorites. I missed the way my dogs would roll around in the dying grasses in my backyard and come in resembling a haystack, trailing dried grass with them wherever they walked. I missed the way the mountain foothills would begin to shift colors or how the horizon of the bosque would suddenly be a golden yellow. These little things sort of bothered me, but it was tolerable. Most of all, I was able to find new beauties of fall in my stunning new home, Colorado.
By the end of October, after seeing pictures of home and of my family participating in all of my favorite fall activities, my homesickness grew. I never realized how much these things meant to me, but now that I was unable to be there for them, I missed them painfully. The worst part was not my missing the activities themselves, but the somewhat selfish realization that life at my home had continued on even without my being there. Nothing is truly static, but these realizations made me long for home more than ever.
Over time, I learned to appreciate the wonderful experiences I was having in the moment at college away from home rather than wondering and longing for what I was missing at home. It was not easy, but was important for my growth and enjoyment of college away from home. I leaned on my friends who understood the homesickness I felt but mostly I worked on making Colorado into my new home, working on fun traditions that would become fond memories in the months to come. Homesickness is never easy, but just remember as you are going through it, that you are surely not alone and this too shall pass.
