You begin to feel the most homesick when the holidays come around. For me, it was always during Chinese New Year. I would miss traditions like looking up what lucky colors my family needed to wear or receiving red money envelopes from relatives.

Thankfully, college is a time when you start to find yourself without the guidance of your parents and the people you’ve grown up with. It seems scary, but it’s also worth remembering that there are a lot of people who feel the same way.

Join RSOs that interest you — there’s at least one organization for each major or career interest. But there’s also plenty of cultural RSOs that are welcoming of anyone regardless of background.

Every year, a couple of RSOs organize a Lunar New Year celebration complete with food and entertainment. There’s also the colorful Holi celebration, and you’ll often find students walking around campus covered in colored dye for most of the day. Right before winter break, both students and Champaign-Urbana residents gather to celebrate Las Posadas with crafts, music and piñatas.

Traditions and gathering with others are both important, but I found out during my first year that I missed the food the most. You might be able to get by on mom’s prepped meals she sends you if you’re fortunate to have family that can do that.

But as the year goes by and you feel more used to being away from home, you might start to realize that adjusting is also about making new traditions.

My memories of holidays, food and cultural traditions are much more tied to the people I made them with. It’s about cooking a plethora of Chinese food with my mom and grandparents, learning their techniques for their seasoned fish or pork belly or laughing with my cousins as we remembered what to say before receiving the red envelopes.

Now at school, I cook Chinese food with my friends, eat mooncakes with them and go to different student-run festivals throughout the year. We take pictures of our meals and I send them to my family and usually receive some well-intended critiques or tips for improvement.

Not only can you find new ways to honor your cultural background while at the University, but you can also learn about other communities and traditions.

You don’t need to imitate what you’re familiar with — you can make new memories.

It’s possible you could end the year more appreciative and connected to your culture than ever.

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