I love Week of Welcome at WSU. It’s probably my favorite time of the year to be honest. It is a time when thousands of fresh faces appear on campus, free stuff is all over the place and you spend most of the time meeting up with old buddies.

I recall being homesick my first year though.

As soon as my parents left I was pretty excited to be off at college, but after the first week of school I immediately began to miss home.

I missed my best friend, my dog, my room, the roads I drove on, the sunrises – everything. I thought I had made a huge mistake coming to Pullman, and I went home two weekends in a row just to see people. But eventually, things got better.

It finally hit me around October when I settled in and had a core group of friends to hang out with whenever I wanted to. I still recall playing volleyball at the Rec Center for hours, talking to people and nailing amazing serves. These people were my new family. I could come home from class every day to my roommate. We would talk and play “Super Smash Bros.” or go to the dining center late at night. College life got me into the groove of being away from home.

I did stay in contact with my family quite often during those first few months.

I called my parents nearly every day after the beginning of the semester just to hear their voices again. They wrote me a few letters during the first semester, and I visited home quite a few times the first two months here. It was always nice to see familiar faces and to sleep in my own bed, visit my grandmother and say hello to the neighbors. I know my family always loved to see me, and it was sometimes difficult to come back to WSU. But eventually, we all began to accept that I was getting older, and time moves on.

As the months progressed during my freshman year, I began to love my new friends more and more, and the thought of going back home became less appealing. It was good to see my family and old friends again, but the people I met at college and the room I was living in were my new life.

I also plugged into a church here, and that gave me more comfort. Going back to my hometown was different simply because while I was still able to connect with everyone, it was not high school. And I was quite content with that.

The first year of college can be daunting. I would suggest getting involved right away with various clubs, churches, student groups, study groups, sports and socializing with friends.

If you get homesick, counseling services are available on the second floor of the Lighty Student Services Building. Do not let your heart be troubled too much. You can easily keep in contact with everyone back home, but after a few weeks here, Pullman will feel much more like home than wherever you came from.