There are countless articles online that will give you advice on how to deal with homesickness. Here are some of my favorite tips that have helped me.

【小题1】

Learn to cook with your friends or find new places to eat. Eating with friends makes things so much better. It’s a way to bond and an excuse to get closer. You even get rewarded for it.

Call home—but not every minute of every day.

I saw so many online sources express it in this way, “Talk to your parents—but not too much. Call home—but not too often.” 【小题2】 However, it’s a problem when you’re talking to them so much that it’s stopping you from having real experiences in this new place.

Explore.

【小题3】 It took me a while to do this because I focused so much on my studies, but it’s really important. To me, being homesick was a sign that I needed to organize my time better. So I could take a break and go for a walk.

Find a way to deal with your emotions.

I got a guitar during my sophomore (大学二年级) year of university because that’s what I like doing when I’m by myself. I keep a journal because it makes me feel better and productive if I need time by myself but I don’t want to feel lonely.

An outlet(发泄方式) for your emotions can take any shape or form. Whatever it is, it’s important that you find a way to deal with your emotions. Don’t avoid them, but try to understand them. 【小题4】 If you focus too much on the negatives, you might forget to see the positives.

Talk to someone.

There is nothing wrong with finding someone to talk to about how you’re feeling. 【小题5】 Or it may mean talking to a counselor(顾问) if that’s what you think you need.

There is nothing wrong with being homesick. It’s normal. It’s part of the experience. We all feel things differently, but everything you learn while you are abroad will help you grow.

I stopped to watch my little girl busy playing in her room. In one hand was a plastic phone ; in the other a toy. I listened as she was speaking to her make-believe little friend and I’ll never forget the words she said, even though it was imagined.

She said, “Suzie’s in the corner because she’s not been very good. She didn’t listen to a word  I said or do the things she should.” In the corner  I saw her baby doll well dressed. It was obvious that she’d been put there to sit alone and think .

My daughter continued her “conversation” , as I sat down on the floor. She said, “I’m all fed up and I just don’t know what to do with her any more. She cries whenever I have to work and wants to play games too. She tries to help me with the dishes, but her arms just cannot reach... And she doesn’t know how to fold towels. I don’t have the time to teach. I have a lot of work to do and a big house to keep clean. I don’t have the time to sit and play - don’t you know  what I mean?”

And that day I thought a lot about making some changes in my life, after listening to her innocent words cut me like a knife. I hadn’t been paying enough attention to what I hold most dear. I’d been caught up in responsibilities that increased throughout the years.

But now my attitude has changed because in my heart I realize that I’ve seen the world in a different light through my little darling’s eyes. So let the cobwebs(蜘蛛网) cut  the corners and the dust bunny rabbit rule the floor. I’m not going to worry about keeping up with them any more.

I’m going to fill the house with memories of a child and her mother, for we have only one childhood and we will never get another.

During my high school years, the most important thing was what I was wearing to the Friday night dance and who I was taking. Although college was talked about, it was the least of my worries.

When I was graduating eighth grade and starting high school, my older brother was graduating twelfth grade and going onto college. For my graduation, he gave me a card in which he wrote, “Enjoy your four years…, they go by fast.” I remember not believe him then, but looking back…, he was right. Those four years shaped who I was as a person, pushed me to my limit and encouraged me to become an adult.

However, I was so completely absorbed in my junior and senior years of high school, that when someone spoke of college I brushed it off. I wasn't ready to leave my comfort zone of having all of my closest friends together and knowing what every single day was going to be like . Studying was something I did only AFTER I nailed my half-time dance performance. I knew my parents wanted me to go to college, so I told them I would go to commuity college (社区学院)and I didn’t worry about my SAT（美国大学入学考试）scores.

When my senior year passed and everyone graduated and went off to their own college ,I started to wish I had done the same. My friends were living away, meeting new people, discovering new places, and I was living at home and driving to and from class every day. It seemed exactly like high school. I hated it! I thought college was supposed to be different! Why didn’t I take more time to research colleges and do the same? I ended up loving college and wishing I had four years to enjoy the campus(大学校园)atmosphere instead of two.

My advice to anyone thinking about attending college is to think about it very seriously and look into all of your choices well ahead of time. Now I have graduate and I am working full time and I would do anything to go back to my high school days for a second chance!