Encouragement Is Always Welcome! Jul 16 '05    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet The Bottom Line Everyone is a freshman and new at school at some time in their life! Relax! If you think your child may be unhappy in school, i.e. college try to step back and put your feet in his/her shoes for a while. Remember how it felt to be the underdog on campus, a brand new freshman? It can be very overwhelming to say the least! This is a normal feeling and usually just a phase that passes in a couple of weeks. Whether your child is in a new state, city, school it is natural to fell a little out of place when you first arrive. Try to keep in touch with your child and provide support, and most of all encouragement. This is vital if your child is away from home in a new city/state/school. They will need some time to find new friends and to start to feel "at home". Entering a new campus can be so overwhelming. Our local University, Louisiana State University, is a nice size University. I remember when I first started working there. I was overwhelmed just because the campus is spread out. I thought I would never learn my way around. This is the same for a student trying to find all the correct buildings for classes. Add to the frustration of starting classes at a new University. You don't know what to expect, especially if you are a Freshman. The atmosphere is totally different from high school. Please remember too that this may be the first time your child is away from home and completely on their own. They must run all the errands, do all the shopping, do laundry, plan meals, and attend classes and do homework. This is a lot of things to schedule that has just magically been dumped into your child's lap. Some have never had this kind of responsibility and it may take some time to adjust. Just try to be patient and offer your support and advise. Call them frequently, several times a week at first so they won't feel so lonely! A call from home may be the highlight of the day! Also remember to send those nice Care Packages from home filled with goodies. These care packages can boost the moral for days! Another option would be to plan a surprise visit to your child at school. It may help smooth things along having a short visit from the folks! You can also access the situation better seeing things first hand. If things have not improved by the end of the first semester, it may be advisable to talk to your child about changing schools. This may not be the right school/situation for him/her. Everyone goes through a period of adjustment and some recover faster than others. Just be prepared to offer your encouragement and support frequently and keep in touch! This in itself can help cure homesickness! All in all, remember that everyone goes through this period of adjustment of accepting more responsibility and adjusting to college life. Just do the best you can and one day you will realize that you fit right in! Good luck! © 2005 Birdfeather

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Write an essay on this topic.