Dear Jellybean,
I have a really big sort of embarrassing problem. I get homesick whenever I go to camp. For the past few years, I've been to 2-3 week camps, and I'm usually homesick for the first week and then I gradually get more comfortable and I end up having a blast. However, this summer, I'm heading off to a camp for six or seven weeks. I know I'm going to get homesick and I was wondering, do you have any suggestions on how to prevent it or how to deal with it?
-Lisa
Dear Lisa,
Don't be embarrassed. You might think it's babyish to miss home so much at the beginning of camp, but it's not. Everyone gets homesick, even animals! When owners go on vacation, sometimes they leave their pets in kennels - and the pet cries or refuses to eat because it misses its owners and its comfy home and its normal routine. So it's a perfectly natural reaction to feel sad at first when you're taken out of your normal environment!
The great news is, you can prevent homesickness from lasting. First, you already know from experience that you usually end up having fun at camp. That's great news, because it means that if you get homesick after you arrive at camp, you can remind yourself that it's a temporary feeling and soon you will relax more and start having a terrific time. Here are some practical tips that really work, for how to beat the homesick blues in those first few weird days away from home:
If you've got a camp brochure, or if the camp you're going to has a web site, looking through it with your parents or a friend and talking about all the stuff you get to do at camp can help you remember what all the fun is about. Focusing on the fun helps you lessen the chances that you'll be homesick.
Talk to friends who have been to camp before. Ask them if they were ever homesick, and what they did to cope. Friends who can speak from experience might give you great ideas you'd never even think of.
Another smart move to prevent homesickness, before you even leave for camp, is to make mini-trips away from home in advance, sort of like a rehearsal for being away! A month or so before camp, go to a friend's house and spend the whole day with her family, then sleep over (with your parents permission, of course), or even spend the whole weekend there. Doing this will help you to see for yourself what you miss the most about home. Then you'll know exactly what to bring to camp and what to do to feel less homesick.
When you're at camp, you might feel homesick because you don't have all your stuff around you, and you're knocked out of your usual routine. So, bring some special stuff from home with you! You can't bring your entire bedroom to camp obviously (lol), but you can bring your pillow or your favorite PJs that you always sleep with. If there is a snack you're used to having every day when you get home from school, make sure your mom or dad packs it with the rest of your stuff before you leave for camp. You can also bring pictures of the people you'll be apart from, like family and friends, so you can look at them anytime you want. And don't forget a pen and lots of paper - so you can write letters to everyone back home and tell them how much fun you're having!
Fun is at the top of the list of homesickness cures. The more fun activities you keep busy with, the less homesick you'll feel. Make it a point to be "Gung Ho" this summer - dive into all the activities you can do at camp that you can't do at home!
Think about the freedom of being away from your parents. Sure, you have to listen to the counselors and follow camp rules. But you probably don't have to do a lot of things that your parents normally expect of you too - and that's a major bonus for six or seven weeks!
Find someone you can talk to at camp if the homesickness lasts more than a day or two. Maybe there's a really cool counselor who you can count on to cheer you up. Actively making new friends will also help make you happier, and lead to fun times and wonderful memories that will make you forget all about ever being homesick.
