Homesick












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            * Homesick
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            When we are born, we believe we are invincible. There is no evidence to the contrary. As w

            at others who are sick, homeless, disabled, and we believe that surely, that could never h
            Of course, that is the greatest fallacy. As we grow older, we experience things which teac
            thousands of little ways, we are all the same. We are all remarkably vulnerable creatures.

            will never catch a cold until we first get one; we listen to medical statistics every day,
            that 1 in every 3 people will be diagnosed with skin cancer, and nonetheless refuse to bel
            happen to ourselves or a member of our family; until it does. And when it does, we fall a 

            further from our blissful ignorance towards the dark, beautiful reality of the human exper
            I have experienced many things that I had previously thought I was immune to. Before I mov

            thought of homesickness never so much as crossed my mind. In my head, I was completely pre
            move. Logically, I knew that I could be home in two and a half hours on any given day. I k
            talk to any member of my family at any given moment, through text, through Skype or throug

            technological advancements that our forbearers did not have the luxury of when they moved 
            But the mind is an emotional beast. Cold logic is all well and good, but in the depths of 
            complex minds, reason falls prey to emotion more often than not. And so it was when I move

            I had everything all set; I was remarkably well prepared. The apartment was ready and wait
            city. I said my goodbyes, shed the few customary tears, and walked through the departure g
            in Prague, caught a taxi to our new apartment, moved in my belongings and all the while, I

            relaxed, completely logical. It was a few days later when the homesickness first hit, and 
            I climbed into my unfamiliar bed in my unfamiliar room and immediately I dreamt of home. I
            was in my own bed. I could hear my dogs barking in the garden, and it was the most beautif

            world. And then I woke up. I was alone in an unfamiliar world, separated by hundreds of mi
            safety net of my family and my friends, and it all hit me at once. I cried; I didn’t want 
            that bed, I didn’t want to face the world, I wanted to go home. I missed everything and ev

            once.
            A few days later I realized that homesickness is a universal experience on moving away fro
            to others, many from Ireland and England and even many European countries, and discovered 

            that everyone was feeling the same thing. Somehow, that made it hurt less. Suddenly, being
            seemed like a fantastic opportunity. I opened a bank account, I bought a Czech sim card, a
            went by this alien world became a little more familiar. I met new people, made new friends

            better. The homesickness faded. Sure, I feel it from time to time, but never as bad as at 
            completely natural to feel homesick, but you’re failing yourself if you let it beat you.
            In this world of global connectivity, we are never far from home, wherever we are. If you 

            talk to a friend; I guarantee you are not alone in what you’re feeling. It will pass, as i
            everyone. It will pass, as it has done for every generation before you, who did not have t
            Internet, or mobile phones, or commercial aircraft. It will pass, and soon enough you’ll b

            the risk of ending on a cliché, don’t give up. Don’t go home too early. In the years to co
            be one of the great regrets of your life. The opportunity we have as Erasmus students is o
            never have again; to travel, to experience new things, to see more of the world than most 

            their entire lives! Don’t waste it by letting your mind get the better of you. Enjoy every
            Luke Bartlett is studying in Charles University Faculty of Law for his entire Erasmus year
            in Trinity College and, down the line, work for the United Nations. On the side he has a l
            for a national newspaper or even, perhaps, a novel.