Homesickness Happens: How to Cope

Moving away from home, whether it’s across the country or across the world, comes with a mix of excitement and anxiety. For many students, the excitement of independence is quickly followed by the ache of missing what’s familiar: family dinners, old friends, your home or your old routine. Homesickness is something most of us experience, yet few talk about openly. In this post, I will be sharing some tips and personal experiences that have helped me as an international student adjust and make my new surroundings feel a little more like home.

My name is Leni and I am an international student from northern Germany.

I came to Santa Barbara in January 2025! I miss my home, my friends, my family and most importantly my dogs everyday. I am not here to tell you ''think twice about leaving home, you will miss it everyday!'' not at all, I am here to tell you that it will be okay.

Germany

It does get easier and thankfully we live in a time where facetime calls exist! Calling my family and friends has helped me so much in adjusting to being here alone, it helps knowing that my favorite people are only one call away! Another thing that truly helps me is going through my gallery looking at pictures from home and reminding myself of how lucky I am! Staying mindful and grounded in situations where you feel sad and anxious helps me a lot!

California

Make sure to remind yourself that you are never alone in the way you might feel alone. Trust me, there is always someone who might feel the same or has been through the same thing, especially when studying abroad and you are with a group of people, at least half of them miss home! and that is completely fine. Everything is a growing process and you are so brave to even be where you are!

Germany

Another thing that helps me a lot is taking moments to myself, when I get sad about not being home and the everyday stress gets to me I make sure to take a mindful moment to do whatever feels best for me, whether that be a nap, reading a book, watching my favorite movie or talking to someone I love. Remind yourself that whatever sadness or anxiety you are feeling won't last forever! Smell the roses and pat yourself on the back for taking such a huge and amazing step for your self growth!

Going abroad is something that will open your mind, challenge your comfort zone and shape you in ways you can’t yet imagine. It’s a journey that will teach you resilience, independence and the beauty of discovering who you are in a whole new world!

Home will be there with open arms when you get back, I promise!