Need to know: Torero life hacks

Whether you moved across the city or across the world, living away from everything familiar will naturally result in homesickness. It can be triggered by something as small as hearing that your mom made her homemade lasagna without you there to eat it. To some degree, everyone will miss the patterns and routines of home, but it is important to cope with the change rather than dwell on it. Here are a few tips to prevent homesickness before it happens and to cope with it when it does.

1. Explore the campus and find your space

Familiarize yourself with your new surroundings to alleviate the uneasivness of being in a new place. Walk around campus and learn all of the classroom buildings, discover your favorite place to eat, and find a recreation space. When you’re exploring,   make note of the place that is most comfortable to you besides your dorm room and go there often. It might be sitting on the Maher lawn or cozying up with a book on the couches in Olin Hall or watching the big game in Frank’s lounge. Whereever your space is, find it.

2. Balance your connection to home

If you spend all of your day updating your parents or FaceTiming your long-distance lover, you’re going to make homesickness worse. Get to know your roommates and hallmates, and talk to them when you have something exciting to share. Plus, the more you talk to the people around you, the easier it will be to find places to get involved on campus.

3. Try something new every week

There is a lot to do on-campus at USD and an endless list in San Diego. The first few weeks your Resident Assistants will be your guide, but plan to do something out of the ordinary each week so that the novelty doesn’t wear off. Even if you’re going out with friends at the beach every weekend, it eventually will feel normal, so go check out a farmers market or explore Balboa Park on free museum Tuesdays (Find more ideas in Opinion. p. 9).

4. Get a part-time job

This style of coping actually has a lot of benefits. When you’re working and people are dependent on you to show up for your shift, no matter the job, you will feel needed. If you work off-campus, you will also gain another friend group outside of students, which offers a nice reality check. The best part of a job is that you will make your own money to spend however you please, which is especially liberating from any financial ties to home. Fashion Valley mall is a great place to job hunt that is close to campus, and the retail and restaurant job opportunities for students are pretty extensive.

5. Look at the big picture 

When homesickness gets overwhelming it might help to write out a calendar. If you can see everything that is planned, between feeling homesick and when you are going to be at home next, you start to realize how quickly it will go by. Write down upcoming exams, sporting events, and fun adventures with your friends. Then, look forward to each of those days, get through it, and it will be time to go home before you know it.

Written by Brooklyn Dippo, Editor in Chief