By LIN LIAN ONG
The symptoms are varied and may include bouts of depression, insomnia, loss of appetite, a short attention span and red puffy eyes. Possible diagnosis: homesickness.
Freshmen are unusually vulnerable to this condition as they begin their new life at college away from family, friends and familiar surroundings.
'It's normal, especially in the first year, when you don't have your parents there to tell you what to do,' said May Kao Yang, a senior from Minneapolis, majoring in accounting. 'During my freshman year, everyone on my floor was homesick and they were so happy to go home at the end of the semester.'
Being far from home may be more difficult for some than others, and this may be attributed to a myriad of factors such as language barriers, cultural differences and dating dissimilarities.
Jorge Ramirez, a sophomore from Mexico City, majoring in film, is one who has encountered the frustrations of not speaking English as a first language.
'I missed seeing the kids on the streets speaking Spanish,' Ramirez said. 'I really missed my family and talking to my mom.'
These feelings of longing were added upon by the fact that Ramirez was suffering intense pain from a kidney stone.
'The first month was terrible. The second month was worse. The third month I was dying,' Ramirez recollected.
Distance from home may not be as much a contributing factor to homesickness than the sheer reality that Mom is not just in the kitchen fixing dinner.
One has to awaken to the truth that Dad is not a mere door away for a bear hug. Roommates, most of whom are strangers at first, now share the already-too-small-for-comfort apartment.
When once the home was steaming with the aroma of pot roast and mashed potatoes and gravy, it may now be seething with the stale smell of instant noodles and ready-to-microwave pizza pockets sitting in pots and pans which never seem to get washed.
Welcome, college life.
'I live close enough to home so that it's not hard for me to go home if I want to. However, sometimes the pressures of school and work render that impossible,' said Katy Hart, a senior from Pocatello, Idaho, majoring in public relations.
Going home for the weekend means a much needed break, relief and recuperation from stress to Hart. 'I can tell the difference if I haven't gone home for a couple of months. Home is always home,' she said.
Although females are conventionally thought to be more expressive in the emotional sense than their male counterparts, Ramirez said guys also wrestle with the problem of homesickness.
'For guys, first you have to hide yourself. You go to a place where you don't see anyone. We cry too, we just do it on our own,' Ramirez said. There is little or no discussion of homesickness with other guys, according to him.
'Guys usually go out and do something physical like jogging or walking. If you can fall asleep, go to sleep, said Andy Tang, a senior from Princeton, New Jersey, majoring in accounting.
Advice from those who have been through a period of homesickness all point in a similar direction -- keep occupied and be sociable.
'Keep busy. As long as you keep busy and have something planned, you won't have the time to be homesick,' Tang said. 'For freshmen, the ward makes a big difference. Get involved in the ward because it is the easiest place to meet people,' Tang advised.
Maintaining an anti-social attitude would make one feel left out and be more homesick as a result. Mixing around should be the aim of those who want to feel comfortable in the new surroundings, Yang said.
Working at the Management Advisement Center, Yang learned that the one mistake many freshmen make is to not concentrate on getting good grades in the first semester.
'Work really hard in the first year. It'll pay off and then from the second year onward, you can relax a little more,' Yang said. 'Start off with a high GPA so you don't have to worry about pulling it up for the rest of the time you are here.'
On a more spiritual note, Tang said, 'Pray a lot. Talk to people like your bishop, professors and upperclassmen. They can give you a lot of insight, especially at a time when you miss the mentoring your parents afforded you.'
A recommendation from one who lives thousands of miles away from home, Felina Khong, a senior from Singapore, majoring in theater, is to use electronic-mail to communicate with family members and friends. E-mail is efficient, quick and relatively inexpensive, she said.
'When you leave home for the first time, you'll feel that way for sure. You just have to tell yourself that it's not often you have the opportunity to grow, learn and venture. This will be a memorable part of your life when you're done with school,' Khong said.