Knowing you won’t be able to hug your close relatives or even your best friend for a whole year can be a depressing thought.

That thought struck me when I left Sweden to become one of the thousands of students at City College.

I left my family, my friends and my safe lifestyle to face a new culture and get to know new personalities. I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.

My first impression of college and America as a whole was what you could call a “honeymoon feeling.”

I loved it, and I was so excited about this absolutely wonderful place.

The feeling lasted about two or three weeks until it started changing.

I was grocery shopping at the supermarket one regular boring Monday. Suddenly “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey started playing on the loudspeaker.

The song reminded me of close friends back home and saddened me. It’s incredible how a simple song, scent or even a taste of something familiar can remind you of someone.

The power of relationships between family members and friends differs from one person to another. And so does the importance of physical connection.

These are two things that mean a lot to me.

I won’t be able to hug my three-year-old niece or hold her hand until I’m back home in nine months.

What if I decide to stay? What if I fall in love or just adapt to a new lifestyle with new routines?

Right now I’m solely dependent on Skype, IM, and Facebook to keep me connected to my family. God knows how I would manage without those tools.

But interacting through the Internet or phone with the ones closest to me is not consistent enough for me.

Whenever I feel homesick I listen to music that reminds me of Sweden. I look at pictures and I smile knowing that my family completely supports my decision to move here.

I know they think about me in their daily lives and I know I will be able to hug and hold hands with my beloved niece soon.

So here I am, in the phase of adaptation, trying to have a positive perspective and to be excited about the possibilities and opportunities ahead of me.

Those are things that are worth staying here for. Even when living outside your comfort zone for a long time period, whoever you are or wherever you go, you’ll still learn to adapt. It’s like a survivor mechanism each one of us has.

I also believe you should consider prioritizing your life by placing your dreams as priority one.

You only live once. If you take others’ lives into consideration and adapt yours according to theirs, that will probably limit your wants, needs, dreams and possibilities.

Those who love you will always care. Don’t be afraid of being forgotten, because you won’t be.