When I arrived at Principia College, I had to face a drastic change from what I was used to. I'd grown up in a city, and all of a sudden I found myself in a place which seemed to me to be in the middle of nowhere: lots of cornfields and no street noises or anything similar to the city environment I was used to. It felt so different to wake up at school and not be surrounded by all the members of my family or my friends. I knew nobody at college, and everyone seemed to be different from me. And even though they were all very friendly, it just didn't feel the same as being around people I'd known all my life.

After the first week at school I was ready to go back home. If I had been somewhere in Africa, I would have hopped on a plane and left it all behind. I was very tempted to give everything up and go to a school very close to home. At that time I couldn't seem to focus on my class work, and sometimes I actually cried myself to sleep. It continued like this for many weeks. The first academic break felt even harder because I had to spend Christmas in the United States, and in such cold weather. I could barely stand my homesickness.

At home in Kaduna, Nigeria, we had a Christmas tradition of waking up to my mother's cooking, later having a huge breakfast, and then going to church. After that, we would visit with extended family and eat all day long. In the United States I didn't have any close friends to spend Christmas with, but fortunately my brother lived in Texas and I was able to visit him during that time.

When I got back to school after the Christmas break, it occurred to me that I hadn't tried to work out my homesickness in any way other than by just being mad, confused, and frustrated. I was having real trouble appreciating my experience in the United States or seeing it as a good thing in my life, even though it had been my own choice to go to Principia College. I hadn't really seen the situation as one that needed healing or that could be improved through prayer. I had just seen it as something that I had to live with.

I decided to speak to my school's international student coordinator about how I was feeling because I knew that she had heard similar stories from other international students. She was very kind and reminded me to really embrace the idea that I didn't have to miss out on being with family by attending school so far away.

Something she said that really struck me was that I could open my eyes to the truth that I had an opportunity to add new members to my family. After she said that, I started thinking of ways in which I could be grateful instead of being upset. For example, I could see spiritual qualities in all those wonderful people around me.

Right after that conversation, I called my dad and told him about what I was going through. He really emphasized the idea that I could never be out of my right place regardless of how the material situation seemed. He reminded me that God fills all space and is infinite, and that it's impossible for any of us to be outside of His care.

With that thought in mind, I started making more friends and seeing a lot of good as a result of studying at Principia. I realized I was meeting friends who made me happy and who meant a lot to me. And after all, I realized, I was also getting a really good edcation. My dream of seeing the world was coming true, and coming to school in the US was the first step. I was soon accepted to go on an academic abroad and study for a quarter in France, which was on the top of my list of places that I wanted to visit.

I realized that going to college away from home wasn't a curse or some sort of punishment. But it took prayer, a conversation, a phone call to open my eyes to all the blessings around me. As soon as I realized that I was in my right place, I began to see more evidence of it. The following three and a half years at Principia brought me so much joy and knowledge that all the feeling of homesickness completely disappeared!

It wasn't that I no longer missed or thought about my family in Nigeria; rather, I came to appreciate more than just physical proximity to them. Today I always have loving thoughts and memories of the friends I met at college, and I can say that I have indeed extended my family; my home is no longer in Nigeria alone. css