Overcoming the Thanksgiving Blues: Navigating College Life Away from Home
This time of year, I reflect a lot on my own college experience. I’m from California, and I went to college in Pennsylvania. I never got the chance to come home during Thanksgiving break because flights were too expensive. Luckily, I had cousins that lived in Virginia, and I spent Thanksgiving with them. Although I was with family, it was not the same, and many of my other California friends stayed on campus.
I think a lot about this now as an adult. I couldn't express what I was feeling at that time because feelings were not talked about. Now, I reflect on how hard Thanksgiving is when you don’t come home. All your friends get to go home, and you are left behind on an empty campus. There are feelings of being homesick, sadness, and loneliness.
I know this because I felt this way. Even though I was at my cousin's house, it was not the same. I wanted to be home. It was different. I missed my family. Though it was my choice to go away for college, Thanksgiving break was always hard.
I want to offer you that this is completely normal. Feeling homesick and lonely during Thanksgiving is part of the college process.
I recommend you do 3 things.
Call home - but know that you will likely feel FOMO. You still want to connect with your family and wish them a happy Thanksgiving, but know that you will likely feel sad that you are not there. Be prepared for this feeling and know that it is ok to feel this way. If this is really hard, send a text message instead.
Connect with people - the semester is really busy. This is the time to reach out to the people you like. This could be your cousins, high school friends, or even your professors. Many professors live near campus and they love to host students for Thanksgiving and be open to spending dinner at their house.
Do some self-care – self-care looks very different for people. Think about what you like to do, maybe it’s watch a movie, play video games, do a puzzle, go to the mall, bake, or sleep. Focus on doing something for yourself.
The good news is that after the break you only have a few weeks before you come home for Christmas break. Think about how you are almost done. You are so close to the finish line.