Many students beginning university experience the “first year blues” – that’s completely normal!
First-year blues can be anything from feeling homesick to overwhelmed with schoolwork to generally being unhappy.
Ellen Cottee, a second-year journalism student, said her first-year blues consisted of feeling overwhelmed and like she was spread too thin.
“I didn’t want to do anything, so I ended up sleeping for hours and hours during the day, missing class,” Cottee said.
“I was used to my parents helping me plan stuff and of course, they weren’t there for me all the time. Mostly I felt helpless at that point.”
Patty Allen, a mental health nurse at Carleton’s health and counselling services, said that it is not uncommon for students to feel lonely or sad until they adjust to all the changes they are experiencing.
“First-year students experience lots of changes – new school, new city, new living arrangements, new roommates. Maybe [they’re] missing family and friends,” she said.
Pooya Vakili, a second-year communications student described the first-year blues as the feeling where one’s whole world changes in a matter of days.
“I moved here from Dubai and was living without my parents for the first time in my nineteen years of existence,” he said, adding that as an international student, he also had to get used to new weather, new food and a new culture.
For those who are feeling down, there are resources available on campus to help. Students who need someone to talk to can go to one of the counsellors on campus. Health and Counselling Services has three counsellors, Housing and Conference Services has three, and there is an International Student Counsellor in the International Student Services Office (ISSO), according to Allen.
She said Carleton’s health services had a total of 37,000 medical and counselling visits.
Cottee said the first thing she did after realizing her problem was to talk to a counsellor. She said the counselors at Carleton gave her many suggestions on how to feel better, which included exercise, and learning how to better schedule her time — both of which helped her feel less overwhelmed and more in control.
Allen said that change is constant so the best thing to do is to embrace it.
“Share new experiences with family and friends back home – stay connected on social media. Try to meet one new person each week. Stay healthy, and coping with changes is much easier – sleep at least 6- 7 hours a night, eat regular meals, exercise. Go to the gym, the pool, the ice rink, walk, bike ride, etc. Use the CUSA handbook to keep yourself organized. Volunteer, join a club or sport team,” Allen said.
Cottee said she sets up a time to call or Skype her parents and friends on a weekly basis and tried to keep busy when she started feeling very homesick.
“If you keep letting your mind focus on how much you miss home, it will really hurt you,” she said.
“Talk to your new friends about it, too; chances are they’re feeling the same way so you can help distract each other from sad feelings.”
Vakili said he also suggests Skype and communicating with home, but added that eventually living alone becomes as routine as life before.
For him, new friends gave him that sense of family that he had been missing.
“By the time I was moving out of the dorms in April, I could not picture a routine or life apart from [residence] life. It became better by the day. You’ll come to see it eventually. Some days will be harder than others, but in reality, the year will come to an end and you’ll be back home visiting before you know it. So enjoy your time there while you’ve got it,” he said.
