Steph: Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

With crazy college life, it can get really hard to keep in touch with friends from home. With all the new people, new places, and of course loads of homework, finding time for an hour-long phone call to catch up can get complicated. Here are a few tips to help you guys stay in touch without the stress.

Make a Facebook Group

When we all went away to college last fall, my friends and I made a Facebook group so that we could all keep in touch. We post stories, updates, videos, and pictures to help keep each other informed on our lives. It’s a really easy way to stay updated on your friends, and its something to look forward to when you see that someone has posted in the group.

Snapchat

For all of you with an iPhone, Snapchat is a really fun, free app that you can share with your friends. The basic premise is to send selfies of yourself to your friends, who can only view it for a certain amount of seconds. Now, I know it sounds stupid. I thought it was at first too. But it’s actually really fun and silly, and it’s a nice way to show someone you’re thinking about them if you only have a few seconds to spare. You can also draw on yourself and add text!

Set Up Skype Dates

I’m a fan of planning things in advance. Most of the time, my friends and I end up playing phone tag because one of us is always busy. So, it can be helpful to set up Skype dates for later in the week to make sure that you and your friends can set aside time to catch up.

With busy college life, staying in touch can sometimes seem like a chore. But with a little bit of effort and these easy ways, you can make sure that you don’t lose touch with your good friends from home. I always feel better about everything after a nice Skype date, silly Snapchat, or Facebook post from my friends. I hope they help you, too!

 

Alexa: How to Not be Homesick

Hey everyone! Hope the semester is treating you all well!

I remember last year around this time I was beginning to transition from the excitement of being a freshman in college to missing my sweet chocolate lab. I was homesick. Luckily, I was able to figure out ways to cure my homesickness, (lets just pretend that’s a word), and I thought now would be a perfect time to share.

1. Skype:

Skype and Facetime are both great ways to stay in touch with your family and friends back home. There is something about seeing someone that is much better than just a five-minute phone call.

2. Realize You’re Not Alone

Seriously, everyone gets homesick. Especially coming to BU from California, I found it easier to admit that I missed home a little when my other friends from California did too. If you can talk about it, soon it won’t be as lonely.

3. Keep Mementos from your room

Keeping something from your room in your dorm room helps you adjust more to your new (but temporary) home!

4. Get Involved

I know it’s been drilled in enough, but getting involved is one of the best ways to forget about being homesick. If you are busy interning for a radio show, or shooting for BUTV, pretty soon you’re so busy you forget about wishing you were back at home.

Hope these tips help! Also good luck on your upcoming first COM test!