The room is small and brown but very homey, the kind of room you curl up in on a cold night without a worry with the ability to study or read quietly. The mini fridge makes a small vibrating noise that almost helps you feel at ease. The sound of students in the halls echoes as they pass by living in the moment and blasting their favourite tunes while singing in their raspy voices. In the corner of the room sitting at the window with headphones on one ear and the other uncovered “I believe I made the right choice going away for school” says Janie Burke with a comforting smile on her face. “I feel more mature and independent now.”
For Burke, this was her new normal away from her city lifestyle in Calgary. This new routine was far from what she knew, being in a small town surrounded by groups of people who grew up together and now spend their time with each other as they finish their last steps of school. Although intimidating she knew it was the place to be, she had family not too far away and she worked hard to gain a group of individuals that helped her fit in with no hesitation but there was always a part of her that missed some of the little things she was so used to. The feeling of not being able to see her significant other for longer periods than she wanted to and living so far away from her closest friends was never an easy bid. “I miss my family, friends and pets more while being away,” she said while sitting on her dorm room bed.
Rather than her usual jeans with a smaller t-shirt that fell just below her belly button, she wore a baggy pair of grey sweatpants that fell to her ankles and a baggy shirt that was longer and stayed at her hips. This was her time to lay back and relax before she had to get her mind back into schoolwork that would slowly drain her energy again.
Her four-wall room was full of posters and pictures that she cherished and reminded her of home. A mirror on the door so she could apply all her necessary face products and pick an outfit before the long day ahead of her peaked around the corner.
After a long day of schooling, she would get back into her usual spot by the window and make her around calling all the people she missed back at home. This usually helped with her homesickness and would make her feel like there were people with her. She did feel alone at times even with so much company in the room, but she knew the one person she would always want to talk to was just a call away. Being in a long-distance relationship for her was never easy but she also felt that it helped her realize the love and care she had for her significant other and made them grow as a couple. “I feel like we communicate more, and it helped us grow” Burke states. “I think she is doing so much better being away because it helps her get away from reality but has me if she ever needs someone to fall back on,” said Jared Robbins with a slight smile on his face.
That feeling of being down because of the distance from home suddenly would disappear because she knew that this was her place and it would be for the next four years so she had to push past the homesickness and make this new environment her new home.
