Despite being a thousand miles away, boarding most students do not long for home.

Homesickness is a very common thing to be confronted with, especially when you have never lived away from home. Being at a boarding school, students can find themselves wishing to be back in the comfort of their home and in a place that is familiar to them.

For international students it can be an even bigger change. Not only are they living away from home, they are  in a new country. As for students living in singles, is it possible the emptiness of not having a companion make their homesickness worse because they have no one to keep them distracted?

At Williston, 70% of students are apart of the boarding program and many of them experience homesickness at least once in their time at Williston. Students coming to board at Williston can either be leaving home for the first time ever or living in the next town over and cutting their commute time down.

Students feeling homesick are not alone on campus; they can go to their dorm parents, proctors, friends, and the counselors at Health and Wellness. Everyone on campus is here to help and make sure students are feeling supported.

Meg Colenback, Director of Mental Health Counseling, has students frequently come seek support during the first two to three months of school and after long breaks.

“Homesickness can affect any student at any time but can be especially hard for first year students who are working to get established on campus,” she said.

Colenback explained that homesickness can relate to anything regarding your normal schedule at home.

“Homesickness can be about missing family, but it can also be about missing your typical food, smells, pets, neighborhood, and family routine.”

She suggested a few things to help students who are missing their home and family.

“First, we want students to know that these are totally normal feelings that tend to get better with time and structure. We recommend keeping up with your new daily schedule at school and try not to spend too much time alone thinking about what you are missing.”

Another important thing for students to do is give themselves some free time because self-care is important; however, Colenback pointed out that giving yourself too much free time can make the sad feelings worse.

Communication is key, but sometimes too much communication can make the homesickness worse.

“It is important to think about what communication home looks like; if you are in constant communication via text, face timing and calling with family, it may make homesickness more intense due to the constant reminders that you are away,” she said.

“We encourage you to talk to home every few days for support, but also to try and embrace the independence from your family.”

She stressed the importance of talking to people in your dorm to get guidance on battling homesickness. “Proctors /dorm parents can be a great resource for tips and tricks to get you through your homesick feelings. Chances are they have been through it as well and know good ways engage in Williston life and set up your new routine and home away from home.”

Most importantly, Colenback said, “If homesick feelings get too intense and your find yourself having difficulty engaging on campus please some to counseling. We are here for you and will help you through it!”

Alison Malinowski, the Head of Memorial East, explained the dorm parents are a resource for any student feeling homesick regardless if they are a returner.

“As dorm parents we can reassure them that it is normal. Ask them the last time they contacted home and how they prefer to contact their loved ones (video/phone/text etc). Set up a schedule for contacting home that feels good for that student,” she said.

“Our role as dorm parents is to be a safe space for students to come to for any questions, concerns or problems they may have. We also love to hear the wins and positive things that are going on in students lives too,” she added.

Yuri Taniguchi, a first year international sophomore boarding student from Japan, said this was her first time being away from home and has experienced feeling sad.

“I have felt homesickness in this first month because I have missed my parents, and it’s hard to call them because then I’ll feel even sadder,” Yuri, who lives in Memorial East, said.

Yuri has never left home for an extended period of time before this, “It is harder to settle in because it’s a new experience and I had been at the same school my entire life until now, so it is a major environment change.”

Lastly, having a roommate has been helpful because they both battled feeling homesick together. “My roommate has been very supportive because she also felt homesick so we had each other”

Dannielle Lu, a second year international sophomore boarding student from Shanghai, finds that seeing other boarding students going home for a weekend makes her feel more homesick.

“Considering I’m from Shanghai, which is at least 12 hours away, I definitely do feel more homesick than other boarding students who aren’t as far away from home, and the just seeing everyone around me going home each green weekend kind of worsens this feeling,” she said.

Like Yuri, Danielle found her roommate to be a helpful distraction and kept her get through the waves of loneliness.

“I’ve been rooming with my current roommate since freshman year when we’ve been paired together randomly, and it’s been great. Even though sometimes we would have little arguments here and there, for the most part we love each other and helps me feel at home away from my actual home back in China,” she said.

She said, “Just her being there, her presence in the room would help me cope with loneliness and honestly by now we both can’t even imagine not rooming with each other in the future.”

As for short breaks Danielle said, “Normally I would go with my friends or my parents to Boston or New York, because I really can’t go anywhere else. There is the option to stay at school, but honestly after being at school for months I really want a break outside.”

Margaret Himes, a first year sophomore boarding student from Los Angles, California, felt super homesick.

“I missed my dog and family a lot. Because I’m the oldest in my family, I feel like being away from home means I’m missing out on watching my little cousins grow up.”

Emma Hwang, a second year international sophomore boarding student from Korea, said she sometimes finds herself feeling homesick because she doesn’t have her family here.

Riko Tanizawa, a second year international sophomore boarding student from Japan, said she often feels alone.

“I feel homesick because of course my dorm is not my house and America is not my home country,” she said. It makes me feel like I’m always solo.”

While five students expressed that they have missed their home or certain aspects of being home, five students said that they do not feel homesick.

Katie Robins, a first year sophomore boarding student from Jacksonville, Florida, found herself experiencing little to no homesickness in her first month.

“I haven’t really felt homesick because this isn’t my first time being at a boarding school and I’m used to being away from home.” Katie has been at boarding school since seventh grade and felt that this transition was nothing new.

She did find that having a roommate helped her settle in easier, “We were the first people that each of us met here and it’s nice knowing someone has your back.”

Maya Vulakh, a three year boarding student from New York, like Katie, did not encounter homesickness when boarding.

“Coming to Williston was not my first year being away from home, I’ve gone to sleepaway camp in the past so I know what it is like to be away from my parents.”

Unlike Katie, Maya is a proctor in Memorial East and has a single, so she found herself feeling a little more lonely. She said, “I miss having a roommate because it is more lonely and empty in a single.”

Leon Sohmen-Pao, a four-year international senior boarding student from Singapore, does not find himself wishing to go home like other international students.

“I feel like I’m less homesick then most students as I’m use to it and I only go home once or maybe twice a year,” he said.

While he does not have a roommate he does not seem bothered in the emptier room. “I don’t have a roommate but I do go out a lot and that helps if I ever feel like I might miss something but generally I don’t miss much.”

He ended with, “For breaks that are short I either go to New York city and hangout with friends or just stay at school chilling.”

Jayla Butterfield, a second year sophomore boarding student from Bermuda, is not often feeling homesick.

“I have friends here and I have my own space while being away from home.”

Maggie Duffy, a first year sophomore boarding student from Maine, felt that she hasn’t experienced serious homesickness.

“I used to come to Williston a lot because my sister [Teagan Duffy, ’24] was here, so I knew what boarding here was going to be like.”

She explained that because her sister is not at home and is at college, she doesn’t miss being at home.

In some moments Maggie said she misses home, “If I’m having a bad day, I might miss my dog or my family.”

Lastly, Maggie said, “You learn to make this place your home.”