This one isn’t so much about missing the sounds of home as it is about finding the sounds that are similar. Because I work on a farm, there are particular sounds I hear often that I also heard many times back when I lived with my parents. And those sounds are… gardening noises.
Weedwhackers, leaf blowers, lawn mowers, and loud diesel trucks. These are now a few of my favorite things.
When I was on my computer in my old room, I got so annoyed when a gardener next door would start their machinery and I couldn’t hear my video game. Even worse if they arrived super early and I was still asleep. Now, it makes me feel like work is starting and when work starts, that means people are near and energized. This helps because it gives us all a chance to socialize, to see smiling faces, and to do good work worth celebrating together later.
Talking is a sound we all crave when it’s gone. Because mornings and nights are quiet where I live now, I cherish the daylight hours because it’s active. We’re all alert and chatting and working toward a mission. It keeps me busy and from the feelings of homesickness. And it helps me adapt more to this new life I have, which helps me move on and forward.
Just like you can recreate sounds from home, you can also find ones that are similar. This is probably the healthiest way to go about this. Why? Because you can actually learn to grow rather than sink into your homesickness and eventually quit. I’ve thought about quitting so many times in the first six weeks. When you feel this way, there is a tip I’d like to give you that helped me so much.
Book Your Trip Back Home ASAP
That’s right. When you first arrive at your new place, already have the trip to visit back home booked, and book it within six weeks from when you arrive, or the most, three months. My first week here I told my boss I’d be visiting home and needing a vacation. They were shocked that I made it so quickly, but I had to do that. I made up some excuse, like my cousin (aka best friend) was having her first baby… which was true, but I didn’t want to sound like a baby myself implying I missed my mommy and daddy. Even though that was true, I knew I was in a grown-up world now and that would live with my reputation forever.
They granted my vacation and guess what… that was the only vacation I needed for months and months.
Here’s what happened:
When I went home I dove right into all my old habits and things I truly missed. I went to my favorite restaurants, I hung out in my old room (which was a den again), and I watched sports with my dad. I saw old friends, had the same old conversations, and went shopping for supplies I needed at my cottage but couldn’t buy there.
And that quickly faded. Sooner than later, I realized exactly why I left. I missed the sounds, yes, but I didn’t miss the mundane-going-nowhere lifestyle my family and peers had. I remembered that I left that old town to become a new person and living back there wasn’t going to allow that to happen for me. I felt gratitude to have my family and friends, but immense peace that I now had a new place to call my own. A place so different than anything I was used to.
That’s why I haven’t needed another vacation to visit. That little sudden trip back home was enough to lock in my skull – this is exactly where you want to be.
When I do get homesick, I now know it’s because of the people I miss and the sounds that come with them. In their homes or hanging out around town. But it’s not the town itself or the lifestyle.
This is why I recommend you book that trip and soon, too.
You need to trick yourself in a way. You’ll think you’re going back home to fulfill feelings of nostalgia, but what you will really learn is that you made the right choice to leave. That alone will help make this process of being in your new place easier. In this way you can grow and prosper in whatever it is you’re working toward.
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