You've heard of the frat flu, also known as the freshman flu. It's a cold-like malady specific to the uniquely viral atmosphere of college. But what about the classic illness that plagues up to 70% of college freshmen? From the dinner of western, I'm Mika Allison.
This is Digital Diaries, a weekly podcast following the college experience and asking students a question about life in Northwestern. This week, we ask Northwestern students about homesickness and how they deal with the feeling. Homesickness is supposed to hit when your first year, but sometimes it comes when you least expect it. A train ride, a quiet moment, or a simple gesture can leave you feeling nostalgic.
Weinberg sophomore Katrina Peterson remembers the last time she got nostalgic for her home in the Pacific Northwest. The other week, I was like stressed about finals and stuff, and then my mom texted me that she ordered me shampoo off of Amazon, and I just started crying. So it's like the little things like that. Weinberg sophomore Stephanie Kim, who was over a 21-hour flight away from her home of Singapore, finds herself missing home when the weather and the transportation in Evanston get difficult.
It's warm topical weather all year round, so whenever it's like winter or cold or windy, I always miss home. And sometimes like I miss public transport because here the transportation system is so bad, but in comparison, Singapore is like heaven. You can get anywhere in like 20 minutes. Even though Kim says that Singaporean food is in a short supply in Evanston, there are other options that she orders.
I can never find good Singaporean food anywhere in New Year, but I'll get like Chinese takeout and stuff like that. Unfortunately, homesickness doesn't have an easy cure. While resting up is always a good idea, some students have other ways of combating a longing for home. Communication junior Frances likes to downplay the end because I was a classical pianist from first grade to I went to graduate high school, so I'll like sit down and like try to like remember pieces that I used to play.
Like McKittrick, Peterson also turns to music when she feels down. I have this really cringy playlist on Spotify that's like Jimmy Buffett and Nora Jones and everything that I grew up on at home. And so that's a good go-to of nostalgia. For a lot of students I talk to, homesickness isn't necessarily about being in a particular place.
It's about missing a time in your life you might not be able to get back to. McKittrick describes it as a feeling of wishing you were a kid again, without the pressures of being an adult. It always happens when like I got locked out of my apartment and I just like call a boxman. Especially this year like moving off campus.
I found a lot of moments where I'm like oh I'm a big kid now and like it sucks sometimes. That's when I get homesick for the idea of being so without responsibilities. Kim said that for her she felt more homesick her second year than she did her first. It was like the schoolwork gets harder than it's like you miss home a bit more and you miss being baby by your parents a bit more.
Kim saw her hometown through new eyes when she brought college friends with her to Singapore over spring break. I had so much fun being a tour guide and showing everybody like see if when I say that I miss this at home this is what I mean and they can have like specific images to come to mind when I say that I want specific food or anything like that so that's been fun. Over time, Northwestern can become a second home for many students. My kids spent two summers in Evanston and has found ways to appreciate the city for what it is rather than the things it lacks.
To try to like stop feeling homesick I think it's sort of redundant and so what I more do is like find the ways to make myself feel cozy here and I also think that like part of that also comes from finding Evanston things that make me feel better. Whether it's the Evergreen trees of Seattle or the parks of New York that you miss, ironically the feeling of homesickness can unite college students no matter if their home is 20 minutes or 20 hours away. I don't think homesickness gets fixed ever at least for me like I'm in a very different place from where I grew up and even if I do stuff like I still know I'm in Evanston, Illinois and I know I New York and so it's more that like I honestly like teaching myself how to grow up. From the Daily Northwestern I need to listen.
Thanks for listening to the first episode of Digital Diary Season 3. This episode was reported and produced by me. The audio editor of the Daily Northwestern is myself, the digital managing editors are Eric Ischmitt and Ava Mendoli, and editor-in-chief is Alex Perry. Make sure to subscribe to the Daily Northwestern's podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or Soundclap to hear more episodes like this.