Jo is a third-year Publishing and English Lit student, who also doubles as a superwoman. She has a part-time job, an insane work ethic, and is also one of the kindest people I have ever met. In this Q&A she opens up about homesickness and balancing uni, whilst trying to go home as often as she can. Homesickness can be a common feeling experienced by students, but can also be very isolating because it’s not something people tend to talk about in fear of being ridiculed. But it happens and we should talk about, so over to Jo…

Q: How far is home from Uni?

A: I live an hour and a half drive away, or 2 and a half hours on the train.

Q: Was that a factor in going to Uni?

A: Yeah, I was looking at York and Loughborough, and a lot of places that were quite far up north. But when we actually started going to open days and travelling that far… I thought, no, this isn’t for me. I need to be able to come home if I need to.

Q: So how often do you go home?

A: I tend to go home every three weeks just for the weekend. But during holidays, I go home, for example: the whole of Easter and Christmas.

Q: How far ahead do you plan in advance when you’re going home?

A: As soon as I move back in to Uni. I need to work out when my deadlines are and go from there. I miss my cats a lot and I just hit a point where I just don’t want to do anything anymore, and then my mum just helps look after me again. Resets me like I’m a kid again. I also just really miss my cats.

Q: Do you feel better planning it in advance?

A: Yeah, it gives me something to look forward to. I also organise my time better because I know I’m losing a weekend of work. I do tend to go home in week 6, which is usually a deadline week, but I feel like I work on deadlines quite far in advance anyway, so it’s not too much of an issue.

Q: Do you get homesick?

A: … Quite badly. I just sort of hit a point where I don’t want to see anyone, I just want to see my family. I think there’s probably better ways of dealing with it than just running home each time but it works for me. I am lucky enough that my mum is willing to drive here and pick me up so I don’t have to pay for the train. I think if I had to pay for a train, I would stick it out more and go home less.

Q: Do you feel like other people around you get homesick?

A: I’m not sure if they do to the same extent. I think some people, if they live really far away nods to interviewer can end up missing their ma, but I’m not sure about other people. I think some people have adapted better to that part of university better than I have. They move in at the start of the semester and then they don’t go home till summer, and even then, they only go home for a week, but I think it’s just different people have different relationships with their family.

Q: Have you noticed a difference in home life compared to before you started university?

A: It feels a bit weird to go back. Last weekend I went back, I felt that I just wanted to come back here, because I wanted to see different people. It’s odd, mainly at the weekend, I feel more like a visitor, than I do actually part of the family. But then when I go home for more than three days then it feels fine.

Q: What do you use your time at home to do?

A: I spend time with my little brother, because he’s quite a bit younger than me. I play a lot of video games and just catch up on sleep. It’s nice to just take a break and not have to think about deadlines and dissertations for a bit.

Q: What advice would you give to anyone struggling with homesickness?

A: I’d say don’t feel ashamed to have to go home if you feel that’s what you need. I think especially for me in first year, I was the only one who kept going back quite often, I felt bad about the fact that I wasn’t fitting in, but if that’s what you need to reset then I wouldn’t feel too bad about it. Just go for it, and do what makes you feel comfortable.