Is Cello Hard to Learn Read THIS Before Taking Lessons

Is Cello Hard to Learn Read THIS Before Taking Lessons Jessica Dais Many beginning musicians wonder, “Is cello hard to learn?” The process of learning the cello is not difficult, but it’s important to keep in mind that the cello is not an instrument of instant gratification. It does require focused, daily practice time and a good teacher to guide you along the way. How far you progress with cello is a direct result of the amount of quality time you put into practicing the instrument. Even someone who puts in just 30 minutes a day will notice a significant improvement after a few weeks, regardless of their age. A student who continues to take cello lessons and practice beyond their first year has the potential to develop into a talented amateur, and a young student with the right dedication could continue their studies all the way through to a rewarding professional career. Is Cello Hard to Learn? When learning how to play the cello, very little is spoon-fed to you by the instrument. Keyboard and fretted instruments (such as the piano and guitar) are a little easier to learn the basics. Simply putting your finger on the right key or fret will allow you to produce the note you want to hear.   With the cello, you need to have a teacher guiding you through the early stages to ensure you’re learning in a healthy way. This will lead to a lifetime of enjoying the instrument. If you have the right teacher, anyone can learn the fundamentals of playing cello. As with most instruments, the cello will come more easily to someone with experience reading notes and rhythms. Most of cello music is written down, rather than transferred aurally from teacher to student. But with a little patience, students of all ages can learn the musical language without prior knowledge or exposure. Does Age Matter? Young students make great beginner cellists. Often with youth comes unbridled enthusiasm for learning a cool new instrument and a mental elasticity that helps them absorb new information like a sponge. These advantages can carry a student a long way. The excitement encourages them to practice more on their own and their ability to retain information helps them progress quickly in their studies. One difficulty that young students face though, is the challenge of critically analyzing their playing. As a result, they need an outside observer to help them identify things that cause them trouble, whether it is posture, intonation, tone quality, etc. Young beginners are also generally less coordinated than their adult counterparts and will remain that way until well after puberty. Adult beginners have their own set of advantages. Firstly, theyre better in control of their bodies which helps them make changes to technique and posture more quickly. They also have a strong ability to critically analyze their own actions, and better sense of how they want to sound. As a result of their ability to critically analyze their own playing, adult learners can sometimes go straight to the criticizing part. This can lead to discouragement when they don’t immediately sound the way they want. However, the student is probably playing at a level appropriate to how long they have been studying. Practice Makes Perfect Practicing in between lessons is another necessity that makes learning the cello much easier. Without daily practice times, you will find your teacher going over the same concepts week after week during your lessons. Make a commitment to find a small chunk of time each day to practice playing the cello and you’ll set yourself up for success. If you only have five minutes, play some open strings for tone quality. Have a little more time? Add in some scale practice. If you have even more time, pick apart the challenging sections of your newest solo piece. There is always something you can practice, but focus on the most important concepts with the time that you have. Start Learning Cello Today You no longer have to wonder if the cello is hard to learn. With a teacher guiding your technique, regular practice times, and a willingness to learn, you too can become an excellent cellist. You won’t have to worry about twisting your left arm into an uncomfortable position like violinists, or pushing air through several yards of tubing using only your lungs like a brass player. Instead, youll get to enjoy the comfort of the relaxed seated position for the cello. Overall, the cello is an incredible instrument with a wonderful depth of sound and breadth of repertoire. To get started now, sign up for your first cello lesson right here at TakeLessons with one of our many talented instructors. Post Author: Alexander U. Alexander U. teaches cello, music theory, ear training, and conducting in Brookline, Massachusetts. He received a Master of Music in Cello Performance from the Boston Conservatory and is an avid performer. Alexander enjoys watching students gain confidence and learn more about themselves during lessons. Learn more about Alexander here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher

Improving Technique on Guitar Exercises to Try

Improving Technique on Guitar Exercises to Try Suzy S. In a previous post,  Guitar Basics: Why is Technique Important?, guitar teacher Blake C. discussed  the importance of utilizing proper technique, along with examples and ways to check your guitar playing technique. Here in Part Two, he continues with a helpful guitar exercise to try   If you want to improve your technique, there are a few guitar exercises you can try. I call the first exercise “1-2-4 Exercise” merely because of the fingers used. This exercise is designed to improve multiple aspects of guitar playing technique for beginners or even more advanced guitar players. The first improvement aspect is fret-board balance, which is practiced as you focus your attention on utilizing proper finger position â€" pressing each note with the fingertips of the left hand (for right-handed guitarists or pressing with the right hand for left-handed guitarists) while not collapsing the joints of the fingers. Refer back to the pictures in this post to see the difference. It is critical for guitarists to develop dexterity and nimbleness in order to attain a higher level of mastery of guitar playing. The “1-2-4 Exercise” addresses these skills as you increase the rate that the exercise is performed, while maintaining proper technique. That in mind, begin this guitar exercise at a relatively slow tempo â€" for example, the 50 bpm setting on your metronome â€" allowing you to center your attention on proper technique. Keep in mind, if you simply play this exercise without concentrating on proper guitar technique, your efforts will not accomplish nearly as much in the long run. Below are the notes and tab for the exercise. Although I began on the “A” note located at the 5th fret on the 6th string, the 1-2-4 pattern is obviously a moveable pattern. Beginning the exercise at the 5th fret is a better starting point than the first few frets because of the additional space your fingers must reach, as well as the additional distance your arm must reach. Conversely, beginning beyond the 12th fret creates a different dilemma as you begin the exercise â€" your fingers are crammed together! So let’s begin the exercise at the 5th fret as shown here: Music and Tab written using Guitar Pro 6 Remember, pick each note at a relatively slow rate when you first begin practicing. Focus your attention on pressing with your fingertips and not collapsing any joints of your fingers. As you practice this exercise, play one note for every metronome click. After you are confident in your ability to play the notes fluidly without a pause when you change from one string to the next, increase the tempo in increments of 10 bpm on your metronome. With time and diligent practice, you will be able to play the exercise at a tempo exceeding 320 bpm. After you successfully accomplish the exercise at the 5th fret, practice at other locations on the fretboard. In addition to improving your fretboard balance, dexterity, and overall nimbleness, this is one of the guitar exercises that is an excellent lead into soloing. Blake C.  teaches songwriting, singing, and  guitar lessons  in Lowell, IN. He specializes in classical guitar technique as well as modern rock and blues styles. Blake has been teaching for 20 years and he joined the TakeLessons team in July 2013. Learn  more about Blake  here!   Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by Juan Barahona

The Benefits Of Writing

The Benefits Of Writing Discover the Advantages and Benefits of Writing Every Day ChaptersWriting Benefits Focus ProductivityWriting Helps Expand Your VocabularyWriting Prepares You For Global CriticismWriting is RelaxingWriting Improves your MemoryHealth Benefits of WritingWriting has numerous benefits, and daily writing only magnifies these huge rewards. Whether you are aiming to publish a novel, want to improve your vocabulary, take satisfaction from keeping a diary or you simply wish to benefit from the freedom that putting your creative thoughts down on paper gives you, you will find that writing every day has a positive effect on your life.As is very often the case, people go into work feeling very tired and unmotivated. If only there was a way to warm your brain up and dismiss that negative energy bringing you down… you' E got it!Writing gets your brain ticking and, by nature, forces you to focus on a subject giving you some stability as you start your busy day.If you are unsure what to write about, remember that what you write is not the key. The act of sitting down in a calm environment and putting pen to paper (or fingertip to keyboard, as is more likely to be the case) is what gives your mind the wake-up call it needs.Just think of your brain as any other part of your body â€" you wouldn't jump straight into a physical exercise without first warming up and stretching, would you? Just like these muscles, your brain needs and deserves to be eased in to a work mindset rather than waking up, rushing to your desk and just expecting to be sharp and feel productive from the offset.Starting your day off right is paramount to being sharp and productive. Writing every morning can be a great exercise for the brain. Photo credit: Soon. via Visual huntHow you write down your thoughts has little importance, and neither does the quality of what you write. Simply jotting down a ‘to do’ list on your mobile phone can bring about the benefits we speak of above, but if you do want more of a challenge, you could try using prompts found online t o encourage creative thinking.You never know, you might get really into writing a story or poem and look forward to writing more than you could ever have imagined! Find a private English tutor to help you unlock your literary potential.Entrepreneur Online confirmed that businessman and multi-millionaire Richard Branson strongly believes in the benefits of daily writing. If it works for Richard Branson...why not you? To start off easy, why not read our  guide to improving your writing?Writing Helps Expand Your VocabularyOne of the best ways of widening your vocabulary and improving your writing style is to practice, and do lots of it! The more writing you do, the better your technique will be and the easier you will find communicating your thoughts into words.That is why writing on a regular basis is a good idea for those who really want to improve their skills, and particularly those who want to graft their writing and make a career from it should be writing every day.As is the case for the maintenance of one’s additional languages, you must use your language skills to avoid losing them.By using English, we mean structuring complete sentences and making use of the various tools at your disposal. The reason social media is not the best way to encourage writing flow is that the limitations of tweeting or providing Facebook status updates often mean that language is curbed in order to express a thought within a restricted number of characters.For starters, improving your spelling may be quite motivating! According to this blog Britons need a lot of help with their spelling and writing. 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As such, you must be prepared for critical comments to be made about how and what you write as this is part and parcel of the writing industry.Writing is RelaxingThere is no denying that we live in a world where there are many reasons to feel stressed. In an age of body-shaming, the urge to constantly work on the go and knowing others’ every move thanks to social media updates, writing can provide us with time to switch off from everything.With so much stress and anxiety on our minds, it can be hard to find time to dedicate to tasks like writing. More often than not, if you get a break from your busy schedule, you are more inclined to read an article or take a nap than to pick up a pen.For this reason, keeping a notebook by your bed is a great idea as it allows you to put some words down before bed, when there is nothing else you could be doing with your time. It is then also there should you wake up in the night and struggle to fall back off to sleep.Writing can be very soothing, so you may even find additional benefits to your ability to unwind and sleep more deeply.It is a good idea to keep a notepad beside your bed so that you can jot down notes before bed or after you wake up. Photo credit: mariahfleming via Visualhunt.comNot only can writing allow you t o enter your own world and forget everything on the outside, it can also help with putting negative feelings to rest. Why not find an English tutor London wide or UK wide to help your creative writing. For Manchester check for an  English tutor here and for a Glasow English tutor check here.Writing about your emotions can offer you a huge sense of relief and in turn lift your spirits.  Can you write a thought-provoking essay?For example, if there is something you feel too ashamed to speak to your partner, friend or family member about, writing it down can feel like you are getting it off your chest without the worry of any questions or repercussions.Writing Improves your MemoryDon’t you just hate that feeling when you rouse from a great dream and then, as if by magic, all memories of it disappear within minutes of waking up?This is where the idea of keeping a pen and notepad by the side of your bed comes in again. Try to write down everything you can remember about a dream, as eve n things that first appear insignificant could crop up again and again while you sleep. This exercise might enlighten you to what you are thinking about as you nod off but also may highlight key concerns that you didn’t even realise you were worrying about.You may notice patterns or themes to your dreams which, in addition to being very telling, can also provide some brilliant ideas for stories if that is something you take an interest in.Dreams allow your imagination to run wild and often play out situations that would never happen in your day to day life. Try to capture these surreal events and you might have the foundations of a great book (even if people say that there is nothing more boring than hearing about other people’s dreams…)!By repeatedly noting down aspects of your dream state, you may find that you are able to remember parts of your dreams far easier in future. This is because, in the past, you might have brushed these fictitious thoughts off whereas now you are taking more of an interest in how the illusions pan out.Studying what your mind focuses on during periods of unconsciousness can be truly fascinating. So can seeing how the English language has changed over time!Health Benefits of WritingAs we have mentioned, writing can have a significant impact on your mood however research has shown that daily writing can also pay off in the long run, with huge benefits to overall mental and physical health.Writing expressively is said to lift one’s mood, which in turn can cause their well-being to improve drastically whilst cutting out stress and depressive symptoms.As you can expect, the effects that these mental attributes have on the body are extremely desirable, with blood pressure remaining lower, lung and liver functions working well and, as a result, less time being spent visiting doctors or being admitted to hospital.In addition, the sense of release associated with expressive writing can aid sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorde r, or indeed those patients coming to terms with cancer and other illnesses, to improve their outlook on life.Furthermore, the Live Science website confirms that the key to stronger memory in old age is the belief that you can control and influence this.Approaching old age with a positive attitude towards mental health can have huge benefits, according to scientists. Photo via Visual HuntAlthough many see the effects of memory loss as irreversible, scientists suggest that individuals can counter this theory and that writing is just one great example of keeping our minds active and exercised as we approach old age.If the possibility of better health isn’t enough to get you writing more regularly, then hopefully the sense of achievement, comfort and pure pleasure of communicating with words can encourage you to write daily.For an extra sense of achievement, you can learn how to help others become better writers, too!

English Listening Exercise I Bought a Little City

English Listening Exercise I Bought a Little City One of my all-time favorite English podcasts to listen to for a long time is The New Yorker magazines fiction podcast. It features modern writers reading their favorite short fiction pieces from past issues of The New Yorker, and then discussing them with the magazines fiction editor. Ive always thought the podcast would make a good English listening exercise, and finally got around to putting one together.Donald BarthelmeFor the first one, I chose one of my all-time favorite short stories, by Donald Barthelme, I Bought a Little City. The story is very eccentric, and takes the reader into a strange world, where the narrator has somehow bought the city of Galveston, Texas, and begins to make changes to it.This is a fairly advanced English listening exercise, but the great thing about podcasts is that they can be listened to over and over again. You can listen to I Bought a Little City by clicking here. The podcast is free, and can be downloaded and listened to on an mp3 player, or lis tened to on your computer.Below youll find a list of questions about the reading. Enjoy! If you would like to take a class on this listening exercise, and review your answers, click here to contact us.And told everybody that ______ had to move we were _____ __ __ __ just ________.What a ____ little city, it _____ __ ___. It suited me fine, __ _ _______ __ ______ __.What did he do with the people on I street?What does he mean when he says We planted it all to hell?What happens with the bongo drums at the park? What do you think about the actors reaction? What does he say about Democracy in this part?So I ___ to talking to one of _____ ______._____ how much ______ are you _____ __?What is the problem with ground?Well, I said, get a pencil and lets see what we can ____ __.When you look, you dont want to be able to look at ___ ___ _____ , you want to be able to _____ your ____.How many things does the narrator think you need to look at?How does Bill Caufield solve the problems for the n ew neighborhood?______ here, he said. If each piece of ground was like a piece of ____ ____ puzzle, and the ____ ____ on each piece of property followed the outline of a piece of the puzzle, well ____ ___ ____ __, ___, and ______ ___ ___ _____.What do the last three phrases spoken by Bill mean?What 3 problems does the narrator see with Bills proposal?What was the only thing the narrator didnt like in the end?What did he wonder?How did he solve this?What did Butchs owner say he felt like doing to the narrator?How does he describe Sam Hongs wife?I took a ____ on that deal, theres no _______ it.What does the previous sentence mean?Where does he think he went wrong?How does he describe his feelings for Hongs wife?How would you describe the style of this story? Do you think the author was trying to make a point? How are democracy, god, capitalism and government portrayed in the story?

Eight Great Brain Break Ideas

Eight Great Brain Break Ideas Did you know that brain breaks are proven to improve student productivity, problem solving, and overall attention? Here are eight brain break ideas to incorporate into your classroom routine when your students need to refocus and reenergize: Do yoga stretches. Put on some soothing music and lead students through a few stretches and breathing exercises. Shoulder circles, cat and cow, tree, and ragdoll are some simple moves that will get your students revitalized. Flip water bottles. Keep a few half-full water bottles around for your tween and teen students, who are probably familiar with the bottle-flipping trend that overtook the internet over the last few years. Clear a few desks and line up in rows to have your students try to flip and land water bottles upright. Go outside. If you have a little more time for a break, take the class outdoors for some vitamin D. Lead them through a few group exercises like jumping jacks or just let them relax and talk. Bust out the beach ball. Keep a blown-up beach ball on hand and have students toss it around, challenging them to keep it from touching the ground or walls. Better yet, make that three beach balls to keep airborne. Line up by ____. Get students interacting and moving by giving a criterion and having them line up in order. For example, your students could line up by height, age, or alphabetical order of first or last name. Play Simon Says. Have everyone stand up and play this classic, and make it fun and active. For example, Simon says take five big steps across the room on your knees. Simon says try touching your foot to somewhere above your waist. Play Human Knot. Divide up into groups of five or six, have everyone put one hand into the circle to grab the hand of someone else, and then do the same with their other hand. The goal: untie the knot without letting go. Stand up. Short on time? Have everyone stand up. Let your students move around and socialize or start a conversation by asking what TV shows your students are watching or what theyre doing over the weekend. Sometimes, the best way to engage your students is to give them a quick break. Youll build camaraderie and boost their brain functions at the same time. Ready, break!

Teach Away Telegram - June 2013

Teach Away Telegram - June 2013 Welcome to June! This month is bringing plenty of sunshine, along with lots of new jobs for all categories of teachers! We’ll take a look at some of those, as well as a new teaching tool, EssayTagger. Our country spotlight for June is Japan.Featured Job UpdatesJune has brought a number of Math and Science positions in Abu Dhabi. These positions are available in both public schools and vocational institutions. Requirements vary for each position, but many are open to teachers who do not have a teaching license (though a license is preferred in each case). See the list below for an overview of open jobs, and follow the link to each individual job posting for a full description of the requirements and benefits:Math Teaching JobsFor licensed teachers only:Grade 6 Math teachers â€" Abu Dhabi Public SchoolsTeaching license preferred but not required:Math teachers â€" Vocational instituteSecondary math teachers â€" Vocational instituteMath and Science teachers â€" Vocational preparatory s choolScience Teaching JobsFor licensed teachers only:Grade 6 Science teachers â€" Abu Dhabi Public SchoolsTeaching license preferred but not required:Physics teachers â€" Vocational schoolBiology teachers â€" Vocational collegeChemistry teachers â€" Vocational schoolPhysics teachers â€" Vocational instituteMath and Science teachers â€" Vocational preparatory schoolTeaching Jobs in Related FieldsTeaching license preferred but not required:Mechanical Engineering teachers â€" Vocational schoolElectrical Engineering teachers â€" Vocational schoolChemical Engineering teachers â€" Vocational schoolComputer/ICT teachers â€" Vocational schoolAs always, you can view the full list of jobs and apply through our website.Teaching Tool: EssayTaggerSo often teachers spend hours marking student writing, only to have students glance at a mark and stuff the essay into a folder (or, even worse â€" the garbage can!).EssayTagger helps change the way teachers mark writing assignments, and changes the way that students respond. With this simple online tool, you can quickly and effectively offer your students a formative assessment of their writing.EssayTagger gives teachers two big advantages:Stop wasting time on feedback that will be forgotten at best, and ignored at worst.  With EssayTagger’s easy drag-and-drop interface, simply flag the problem and hold students accountable for the correction.Build your own rubric and customize the elements you’re assessing in each assignment in record time. Drag an assessment tool over the essay (thesis, evidence, style, etc.) and immediately customize any feedback you want to give your students.  This allows you to mark papers quickly and effectively; you can even use their handy Common Core rubric tool to make sure everything is aligned.Completed papers are automatically stored in the Cloud, so there is no need to save the file or email it to yourself. EssayTagger can integrate with Google Drive and a number of other tools, so accepting an d distributing students’ work is a breeze.Find out more at EssayTagger's website: www.essaytagger.comCountry Spotlight: JapanTeach Away is currently hiring Business English teachers to teach at a private language school in Japan. This respected school provides teachers the opportunity to live in Tokyo while teaching English to adult students.  Living in Tokyo is an experience like no other. One of the most popular destinations for teaching abroad, Tokyo is a city where ancient shrines neighbor modern skyscrapers. Teachers can experience the chaotic neon of Shibuya, explore the shopping streets of Harajuku, or escape to one of the city’s many parks or gardens. Residents of Tokyo can visit one of the street stalls grilling chicken skewers, an all-night club, or a relaxing hot spring â€" and in fact, they can do all of these in one day!Outside of Tokyo, the rest of Japan offers a number of large cities and small towns. From wild Hokkaido, to the mountainous region of central Honshu , to the islands of Okinawa, Japan offers every kind of geography to suit any traveler. Historic Kyoto is a beautiful destination, only two hours from Tokyo by bullet train.Teachers hoping to work in these Business English teaching jobs should hold a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline, and should have previous experience teaching adults. Candidates who have TEFL certification are preferred. For more information on the current jobs available, please see our list of teaching jobs abroad.

Are you a Japanese Teacher Check this out!

Are you a Japanese Teacher Check this out! At italki, we love to support language projects, and our friend, Brian Kwong, is running a fantastic language challenge, called the +1 Challenge! As part of the +1 Challenge, one of the cool things he is doing is a Youtube video, which needs the help of our beloved Japanese teachers on italki, check out the message from Brian [in English and Japanese]: WANTED: FUN AND AWESOME JAPANESE TEACHERS! Dear italki Japanese teachers! A few Japanese students from italki recently made this fun video singing a song all in Katakana. I shared it with a few of my italki Japanese teachers and they all want to do a reply video  A Japanese to English song [think karate, miso soup, ninja, dragon ball, pokemon :)] Each person only needs to do a small part as we already have 4-5 people, who wrote most of the lyrics and a plan ready to go. If you want to be a part of this awesome and fun video, then send me a message  here on italki  before Friday Oct 25th, 2013. I look forward to seeing this fun video soon! PS:  You dont have to be an italki tutor to do this but if you are one, your italki profile will be in the video description so Japanese students can find you and book lessons with you Brian! ?????????????!Fun and Awesome Japanese Teachers WANTED! italki??????????????????????????????? ??????????????????italki????????????????????????????? ·????????????????????????????????????????????????????karate  ???miso soup  ????ninja  ???dragon ball  ????????pokemon  ??????? (^-^) ?????????????????????????????4~5???????????!?????????????????? ??????????????????10?25?(?)????????????????italki???????????????! ????????????????????????!(^-^) P.S.  ??????italki?????????????????????????????????????italki  ??????????????????? Are you a Japanese Teacher Check this out! At italki, we love to support language projects, and our friend, Brian Kwong, is running a fantastic language challenge, called the +1 Challenge! As part of the +1 Challenge, one of the cool things he is doing is a Youtube video, which needs the help of our beloved Japanese teachers on italki, check out the message from Brian [in English and Japanese]: WANTED: FUN AND AWESOME JAPANESE TEACHERS! Dear italki Japanese teachers! A few Japanese students from italki recently made this fun video singing a song all in Katakana. I shared it with a few of my italki Japanese teachers and they all want to do a reply video  A Japanese to English song [think karate, miso soup, ninja, dragon ball, pokemon :)] Each person only needs to do a small part as we already have 4-5 people, who wrote most of the lyrics and a plan ready to go. If you want to be a part of this awesome and fun video, then send me a message  here on italki  before Friday Oct 25th, 2013. I look forward to seeing this fun video soon! PS:  You dont have to be an italki tutor to do this but if you are one, your italki profile will be in the video description so Japanese students can find you and book lessons with you Brian! ?????????????!Fun and Awesome Japanese Teachers WANTED! italki??????????????????????????????? ??????????????????italki????????????????????????????? ·????????????????????????????????????????????????????karate  ???miso soup  ????ninja  ???dragon ball  ????????pokemon  ??????? (^-^) ?????????????????????????????4~5???????????!?????????????????? ??????????????????10?25?(?)????????????????italki???????????????! ????????????????????????!(^-^) P.S.  ??????italki?????????????????????????????????????italki  ???????????????????

3 Tips for Surviving Homesickness

3 Tips for Surviving Homesickness For all the college or university planning you may have done, one thing you probably were not prepared for was homesickness. Many students are initially excited at the prospect of being on their own, but all it takes is one bad day to make you long for the comforts of home. However, there are some great tips that may help make things a bit easier on you. Know you aren't alone It is important that you understand what you are going through is completely normal. The fact of the matter is that there are many, many students that are feeling homesick just as you are. Don't think because you are feeling those emotions that something is wrong with you. Homesickness is just part of an adjustment period. Become familiar with your new surroundings Take time to be comfortable with the whole new world around you. Walk around the campus and explore all you can. If you are tired of studying in the library, look for some secret study spots or be sure you know where the quiet caf shop is located. The more that you enter into the mindset that the campus belongs to you, the more comfortable you may feel. Get out Another way to help you deal with being homesick is to get up and get out of your room. Being in your room is the worst place you can be when it comes to being homesick. Head on down to the cafeteria to see what types of food it offers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. See if there is a cool coffee shop on campus. Check out the computer lab as an alternate means of writing your paper. If you have your own laptop, do your assignments while basking in the warm sunshine. One of the most important things you can do if you are experiencing homesickness is to have a positive attitude. You need to give yourself ample time to deal with missing home. This is not something you want to let completely control you by any means. Moving away from home is an adjustment, but it can get easier.