According to the Health Alliance Plan of Michigan, “Over 30% of college students experience low-level homesickness. And about 69% of first-year college students experience severe homesickness.”

Regardless of how far away from home you are once you get to college, a freshman student’s first time living by themselves is rough. For the first time, you will no longer be with hometown friends or your four-legged best friend.

This homesickness, no matter how intense or lingering, can negatively impact multiple aspects of a student’s life. 

The anxiety from being in a new place all alone can lead to isolation. I know from my first year, as I spent most of my lunches in my dorm when my roommate wasn’t there. I didn’t want to be my roommate’s friend. She was a stranger.

Not knowing anyone in a new place, especially if that place is larger than your hometown, can lead to feeling like you don’t belong. And when you feel like you don’t belong, you stay away from events and other people.

This makes college miserable. But homesickness, I believe, is necessary for growth. 

Without getting out of my hometown and coming to college, I wouldn’t have gotten the courage to expand my horizons, as cheesy as that sounds. 

At college, outside of my comfort zone, I was able to find lifelong friends. I met people from around the world and I learned about interests other than my own.

While it might hurt to know that you’re new and in a different place, it can and will get better. Change and growing up are difficult and scary, but it’s worth it.

Caroline Covert is a Copy Editor at The Collegian and can be reached at [email protected]