Homesick

In six months, I'm leaving the country for a while, and I'm already starting to feel homesick. I think about staying in a foreign country where I don't know anybody and I get all wiggly. My stomach hurts and I hyperventilate a little bit. But I calm myself down, and that's what this is going to be about. I will teach you how to calm yourself when you are scared and alone somewhere, with no friends or family around you.

Step one is to take a deep breath. I know this is cliché and everyone says to do it when you are not calm, but it really works. It helps you focus on what's going on and calm your breathing. This works especially well if you're a hyperventilater like myself.

Next, you're going to want to think about other things to just get your mind off of the situation at hand. Think about puppies, kittens, your happy place, Tom Hiddleston's face, etc. Unless you continue to think about how scared you are, anything will help to get your mind off of being so far from your friends and your hometown.

The third thing is to enjoy your trip! Don't squander all your time abroad moping around and missing home. Go out and shop, enjoy what you're doing and make new friends (unless you don't speak their language, then it would be a bit difficult to make friends). This will also help you to get your mind off of this foreign (literally) situation and get you back on track to being a relaxed individual.

If you just follow these steps, you should feel better about being far away from home. Leaving is a hard thing to do, but all you have to do is work through it. You can overcome your homesickness and enjoy yourself away from the familiarity of home. All it takes is a deep breath, some good thoughts, and the ability to enjoy yourself.

I sound like a self-help book now. Thanks for reading!