Regardless of whether you’re moving from the other side of the country or just from the county over, experiencing homesickness is almost guaranteed when you begin college. No matter how excited you are to start or return to life as a college student, there are likely going to be moments when you miss your life before — and that’s perfectly okay.

Homesickness can come and go in waves, or it can hit you all at once. Follow these tips when starting the semester so homesickness is less likely to overpower your college experience.

Make your new space feel like home

Sometimes it can be difficult to make a brand new space feel like a home. This is especially true when living in a dorm.

One way to combat homesickness is to make your new dorm or apartment feel like a place you can consider your own home away from home. Decorate and arrange your space in a way that feels unique to you. Consider bringing items from home to your new space as warm mementos.

It’ll be easier to succumb to feelings of homesickness if you wake up to bare concrete walls everyday, so do yourself a favor and make your new space feel as homey as possible — whatever that means to you.

Stay connected

A huge perk of living in the age of the internet is being able to easily communicate with friends and family. Most people are either a call or a text away.

Make sure to stay in touch with those from home while you’re away at college, and remember to make time and space for those you care about in your new life. Time flies quickly, and people are constantly changing, so stay up-to-date with people from home to avoid feeling disconnected upon seeing them again.

While a call, text or video chat is nothing like seeing someone in person, it can make distance feel smaller and keep feelings of homesickness at bay.

Establish a routine

One of the most exciting parts of starting a new semester is coming into a new daily routine. Following a consistent routine may seem like a monotonous task, but it’s important to feel like your college days are being spent intentionally and with purpose. Otherwise, you may begin to feel lost in your new space and long for the familiarity of home.

Also, just because you have a standard routine doesn’t mean you have to follow it strictly 24/7. You should always schedule time for spontaneity and allow yourself mental breaks when needed.

Keep busy

Staying busy in college is not only great for your social and professional development, but it can also help ease feelings of homesickness.

Homesickness often strikes in moments when you feel alone or isolated. Find ways to keep yourself busy such as by focusing on schoolwork, hanging out with friends and being involved on campus.

By keeping your brain active and stimulated, you’ll be less susceptible to feeling homesick.

Visit when possible

For some, this may be easier said than done. For those who live relatively close to campus, visiting home on the weekends is always an option, but for those whose homes are far from campus, options are more limited.

Breaks are obviously a great time to visit home, but there’s a chance there’s room for more opportunity throughout the semester. Take a look at the 2023-24 academic calendar and your own class schedule to familiarize yourself with dates you may be able to visit home. This could be during three-day weekends, no class days and the like.

Setting dates to travel home can give you something to look forward to when feelings of homesickness start to arise.