Homesickness

 

Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.  ~John Ed Pearce, American Newspaper Editor/ political speech writer

Freshers’ week is over, the excitement has been countered by your course reading list, and reality is starting to have an impact…

New surroundings, new people, new accommodation, and in many cases a new climate, sometimes all in a new language! Home can seem a very long way away. For some people feeling homesick will briefly impact on their consciousness and then they’re off again, whirling through Bristol, eyes on their next challenge. For many people however, overcoming the homesickness IS the challenge.

Maybe this is a good time to reflect on the fact that with about 4000 new people all joining the university in the same week, those who feel homesick are unlikely to be alone in feeling this way. Certainly from where we sit, here at the Students’ Health Service, and in the experience of our colleagues in Student Counselling, and the Multifaith Chaplaincy, we know you are not alone in wishing that your nearest and dearest, and the comforts of home, were a little closer. We recognise how common an emotion this is and therefore we are here to help you deal with it and move onwards to enjoying your time at Bristol as much as you can. The Counselling Service run all sorts of groups and workshops throughout the academic year, with some specifically aimed at supporting people who are homesick. Look at their website for more information, and to book a place on them. And don’t forget that the Chaplaincy is for people of any faith AND none. You wont find a friendlier team providing soup lunches and support anywhere in the university!

My message for this blog is that you are not alone, and that we are all here at the Student Support Services ready to help and listen. It is better to seek advice early than to struggle on alone, we can help.

 A final thought on leaving home;

 “Maybe you had to leave in order to really miss a place; maybe you had to travel to figure out how beloved your starting point was.”
― Jodi Picoult, author Handle With Care

 

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/chaplaincy/

 http://www.bristol.ac.uk/student-counselling/

 http://www.bristol.ac.uk/students-health/