{"id":704,"date":"2010-09-14T09:06:38","date_gmt":"2010-09-14T14:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/parents\/?p=704"},"modified":"2013-11-22T13:53:23","modified_gmt":"2013-11-22T19:53:23","slug":"simple-ways-to-help-alleviate-homesickness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/parents\/blog\/2010\/09\/14\/simple-ways-to-help-alleviate-homesickness\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple Ways to Help Alleviate Homesickness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many college students face homesickness within their first semester of college.\u00a0 Some students\u2019 homesickness will go away in the first few hours after meeting new friends, but others may take a little longer.\u00a0 My first semester in at Southern Arkansas University was difficult because I had never left home for more than a week prior to moving into my residence hall.\u00a0 Although it was a hard transition, there were several simple things that helped me get pass my homesickness.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Frequent phone calls.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 My First year of college, I spoke with my mother two times per day. She would call to wake me up for class in the morning, and at night, she would ask me about my day and say goodnight.\u00a0 The phone calls made me feel that even though I was separated from my family, I could still reach them anytime that I needed them.<\/li>\n
  2. Receiving unexpected mail from family.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 In the spring of 2009, I was stressed with classes and tests.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t seem to get them off my mind.\u00a0 On Valentine\u2019s Day, I wasn\u2019t expecting anything, but I got a card from home, which was very exciting.\u00a0 It gave me chance to get my mind off the stress I was facing.<\/li>\n
  3. Build a relationship with a Resident Assistant.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 Resident Assistants or RAs are placed in the Resident Halls and trained to assist the students living there.\u00a0 They are students as well and have probably been in your students\u2019 shoes before. My freshman RA, Elizabeth, helped me adjust by inviting me to various campus events and talking to me about being homesick.<\/li>\n
  4. Attend Campus Activities.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 By attending campus activities, students get so involved that they don\u2019t think about missing home and family.\u00a0 On a daily basis, the Bruce Center Game Room and Sports Lounge is open, along with the SAU Aquatic Center which houses a basketball court, swimming pool, and workout facilities.\u00a0 Throughout the year, various student organizations host activities where all students can participate.\u00a0 My first activity to attend was Family Day.\u00a0 I was excited that my family was able to attend and share in my college experience.\u00a0 We had fun watching the Bed Race and Greek Canoe Race.\u00a0 I would encourage you to make plans to attend Family Day with your student on September 25.<\/li>\n
  5. Get Involved.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 The ultimate way to alleviate homesickness is to get your mind off of it.\u00a0 By joining student organizations and staying involved in them, students can defeat homesickness and learn needed skills.\u00a0 I joined Student Activities Board, Residence Hall Association, East Hall Council, Black Students Association, and Genesis Ministries Choir my freshmen year. The first things I learned were time management and communication skills.\u00a0 After getting involved and planning activities, I didn\u2019t have time to be homesick.\u00a0 On the weekends that I went home, I counted down the hours until I would be back at Southern Arkansas University.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Nicole<\/p>\n

    About the author:\u00a0 Nicole Woods is a senior accounting major from Hope, AR.\u00a0 Nicole was also awarded\u00a02010 SAU Student Leader of the Year, SAU’s most prestigious leadership award.\u00a0 Nicole plans to attend graduate school to attain her MBA degree after graduation.\u00a0 She is also employed as a student assistant in the Office of Student Life where she coordinates the SAU Alternative Spring Break Trip and assists the dean of students with various projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Many college students face homesickness within their first semester of college.\u00a0 Some students\u2019 homesickness will go away in the first few hours after meeting new friends, but others may take a little longer.\u00a0 My first semester in at Southern Arkansas University was difficult because I had never left home for more than a week prior… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":342,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-704","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-parents-center","7":"category-resources","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/342"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}