I am from Rajasthan(State), but because of my job, I am currently living far away from my home and family in South India. I had to leave home to move ahead in life, so I came here with a lot of hopes and dreams. Everything is going fine, but sometimes I still feel very lonely.
During the day, I stay busy with office work, and I don’t even realize how quickly the time passes. But when the work is over and I come back to my room in the evening, that’s when I start missing home. I miss my mother’s food, talking to my father, sitting with my family, laughing with my friends, and all those little moments that I never thought I would miss this much.
When I was at home, I never really understood the value of these small things. They were just a normal part of everyday life. But now that I am far away, I realize that these were actually some of the happiest moments of my life.
I miss my mother a lot. I miss the way she asks if I have eaten, the way she worries about me, and the comfort of having her around. I miss my father too—his advice, his scolding, and the way he quietly takes care of everything.
I also miss my grandparents, my brother and sister. I miss sitting with them, fighting over small things, laughing together and spending time without any reason. Those simple moments feel so special now.
Here, I have everything I need, but I don’t have my people around me. That is probably why sometimes there is a strange emptiness inside. Talking to my family on the phone makes me feel better, but it can never replace sitting next to them and talking face to face.
Sometimes I just feel like leaving everything and going home for a few days. I want to sit with my family, eat with them, laugh with them and just enjoy being around my own people.
Then I remind myself why I came here. I am working hard for my future and for a better life. Maybe this distance is just a small part of the journey.
Living away from home is not easy. You may earn money and build a career, but the feeling of being with your own people is something money can never replace.
Today, I may be far away in South India, but my heart and my memories are still back in Rajasthan, with my family and my home.
Sometimes, all you really want is to go home.
Top comments (41)
I actually understand this feeling, but also… I don't o(〃＾▽＾〃)o I've never had to leave home for that long, so I can't really imagine what that kind of homesickness feels like.
If anything, I'm kind of on the opposite end of the grass-is-greener situation. I love my family and I'm definitely grateful for everything they've done for me, but living with them all the time has also made me really want the freedom of having my own place. I actually catch myself looking for opportunities to be away from home sometimes just so I don't have to deal with everyone ¯_(ツ)_/¯
I guess it really is one of those situations where you don't fully appreciate what you have until you're on the other side of it. For you it's being away that makes you miss home, while for me, being at home makes me appreciate the idea of being on my own.
There's just something about having your own space and being able to live life on your own terms that I really want to experience. Maybe I'll understand your post a lot more once I actually leave (hopefully it's an entirely another part of the world)
Hope you get to go home and spend some proper time with your family soon though! ❤️
Please take good care of yourself till then!
Sorry for the late reply 😭
Hahaha, I guess we’re both experiencing the whole “grass is greener on the other side” thing from completely opposite ends
You want to get away from home for some freedom, while I’m out here missing home like it’s a personality trait
But honestly, I do get what you mean. Having your own space, your own routine, and being able to live life without having to explain yourself all the time does sound pretty amazing. Although I have a feeling that once you actually move out, you’ll have at least one “maybe I took home for granted” moment
And who knows, once I’m back home, I might end up doing the exact opposite and start dreaming about leaving again. I guess we just tend to want whatever we don’t have at the moment
But thank you ❤️ I really hope I get to go home soon too. And I hope you get your own little corner of the world someday—preferably somewhere ridiculously far away so you can fully commit to the experience
hahaha cheers to that!
Cheers 🥂
I know that feeling.
Now I understand what you said about the song.
Sis, trust me, I have been through a similar situation (could say many times).
But, here I am seeing a new day.
Don't worry, just trust in GOD, stay strong and you will see a bright new day!
A solution to your problem will arrive soon in an unexpected way.
Time always changes!
It sounds like you have a wonderful family. 😸
I think being passionate about work is a great thing, but I can also relate to the idea that time with family is something money can never replace.
Work, challenges, and meeting different people can also help us broaden our world.
Maybe the most important thing is finding a good balance between both and living in a way that feels right for us.
Sorry for the late reply, I was thinking a little about what to say. And yes, I think finding the right balance in life is really important, because once that balance is lost, a lot of things start falling apart. I’m actually thinking of going this Sunday. From the way you talk, I can imagine how precious your family must be to you. And yes, a special thanks to you for being a cat lover! 😺 @nyaomaru
TBH, this is something I resonate with too. My cousins some went abroad, some to south India. And it hurts when you can't see them on actual festivals like old times. This rakshabandhan I actually went to two of my sisters by myself, so as to not feel alone.
I really hope you visit your family soon!!
Hey, think I could understand you, tomorrow I'll went back to another city, because semester will start soon, and I won't spend much time with my family. But still we could communicate via the Internet, just by saying "Hi" in call and sometimes seeing each other in video call. I know that this won't replace IRL communication, but at least it will help feel a little better. Hope you have an opportunity to visit your family sometimes.
Be cool 😘
You titled this "Nothing" and then wrote all of that. It isn't nothing. ❤️
I'm Nigerian, living in Manchester. Different country, same feeling, and I know that evening hour you're describing exactly. The day is fine because there's work in it. It's when the work stops and the room goes quiet that it arrives.
The part where your mother is asking if you've eaten, I can really, really relate. It's the same everywhere. My people do it too, and it was never really a question about food. It's how they say they're thinking about you, and hearing it down a phone line is not the same as hearing it from the next room.
But I want to say this gently, because I had to learn it myself. Missing them this much isn't a sign you chose wrong. It's a sign you have something worth missing. Plenty of people leave home and feel nothing at all. What you're carrying is love with distance in it, and that's a far better problem than the alternative.
And if you can go home for a few days, go. Don't wait for a convenient month or the right point in a project. Book it. The work will still be there when you get back. Those evenings with your family won't wait as patiently.
You came here with hopes and dreams, and you're actually building them. That is not a small thing, and your people know it, even when the call ends.
Sending you a lot of warmth from Manchester. 🌼
What do you write! ❤️ The more I read it, the more I feel like reading it again. Really, you’ve written it so beautifully.
And Nigeria is one of my favourite places. I’ve heard so much about Nigeria and I’ve always found it really interesting. You must miss your country a lot too, right?
I’m still in my own country, but I’m away from home too. My home is around 1,100 km away. But Manchester to Nigeria is more than 5,000 km. That’s such a huge distance. I can only imagine how much you must miss your home.
So, really, thank you so much. You’re genuinely a very nice person, and you’ve written this so beautifully. I’ve read it more than once, and honestly, every time it feels just as beautiful. 🌼
Thank you, that's very kind of you. Though you're the one who wrote the beautiful thing, and it's one I relate to, living away from home myself.
And yes, I miss it. Constantly, and in odd ways. It's rarely the big things. It's the noise. The part of Nigeria I grew up in is loud in a way I never appreciated until I lived somewhere that isn't. Someone always talking, music from a compound down the road, a neighbour shouting a greeting across the street. Manchester is very polite and very quiet, and some evenings that quiet is the loudest thing in the flat.
And the food, obviously. Jollof rice that tastes like somebody's mother made it rather than a recipe. Suya from a roadside grill at night. Nobody here gets it quite right, myself very much included, and I have tried.
But please don't measure it in kilometres. Eleven hundred kilometres from your mother is still an evening you can't have dinner with her. What actually hurts isn't the number, it's how often you can cross it and how long until the next time. Yours counts fully. You don't have to live further away to be allowed to miss home.
And if you ever do make it to Nigeria, tell me first. I'll tell you exactly where to eat. 🌼
At least tell me one dish for now, I’d like to make it at home. And please tell me the recipe too. 😀
We have some proverbs and poems here.
"儿行千里母担忧"
The first one describes that when a child travels far away from home, their parents will inevitably worry about them.
"举头望明月，低头思故乡"
The second one expresses homesickness for people living away from home. When you look up at the bright moon on a night in a foreign land, it is the same moon that your family back home is gazing at. When you lower your head, your mind is filled with thoughts of your hometown and loved ones.
"胡马依北风，越鸟巢南枝"
The third one means that horses brought from the far north love winds blowing from the north, and migratory birds that travel north from the south build their nests facing south.
Life is truly not easy. Anyone living in a foreign land is just a visitor. As a young girl building a life all by herself far away from home, I totally agree with what these lines convey — @ndcodes @merbayerp have almost said everything I wanted to say.
But I still need to give you a gentle reminder. I noticed your post timestamp. Calculating based on my time zone, you must have posted it around one or two o’clock in the morning your local time. You were staying up late. You may be young and not think much of late‑night hours, or you might have been too emotional to fall asleep. Still, please take good care of your health. When you are striving for a life far away from home, try not to stay up late if you can. For your family whom you miss, and who miss you in return, physical health always comes first. Truly. Young ladies especially need to look after themselves well. Don’t get dark circles from staying up late.
The lines are quite beautiful. I read them with all my heart, but I probably won’t be able to express what I felt in words.
As for the time, I posted it at around 1:30 a.m. After that, I stayed awake until it was almost 3. Then I tried to sleep for about an hour, but I couldn’t fall asleep. According to my routine, I have to wake up at 4 a.m. because that is my time for spiritual practice. So I couldn’t sleep at all that night.
Now I have a headache, but that’s a different matter. Normally, I go to sleep around 11 or 12 every night.
Being able to get up at 4 a.m. every day for spiritual practice is a really good discipline. I used to get up at 5 a.m. every day for a while and meditate🧘♀️. It would be even better if I could reach a deeper state of meditation, but I eventually became lazy and stopped keeping up with it. Maybe I should start again and stick with it this time.
There are a few passages in the Bhagavad Gita from your tradition. I don't know what the original text says, so I'll just quote a Chinese translation here. I feel that the secrets of spiritual practice are all contained in these lines. How to truly understand and practice them is something each person has to discover for themselves:
去将呼气献给吸气，再把吸气献给呼气，
必须控制呼吸气道，专心致志静坐调息。
心神凝于双眉间，不与外物犯牵连，
调气息于两鼻孔，端坐犹如出水莲。
离却欲望与惧嗔，克服诸根及心田，
唯想解脱做牟尼，了脱生死出凡间。
You probably know more about the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita than most Hindus do. Huge respect for your knowledge. 🙏🏻
Nice read, and I can imagine that, but you know why you do it! :-)
Thank you so much for always being there to motivate and encourage me. It truly means a lot to me. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t understand what you meant by that sentence because I haven’t been feeling mentally okay since yesterday. My mind feels a little overwhelmed right now. Could you please explain it to me in simple words? I would really appreciate it.
Ah sure, now that I re-read that sentence I must admit it's a bit vague (or terse) - I just meant to say:
"I can imagine that" => "I can imagine that you miss your family"
"but you know why you do it" => "you know why you go to a place far away, and put in all the effort, even though you miss home: it's for your future!"
Hopefully it makes more sense now!
I understand! Thanks
You're welcome! That was really a heartwarming story, and I hope you can soon have a little vacation to see your mom and dad :-)
I’m definitely planning to go on Sunday! :D
Ah good to hear, enjoy!
Hey Divya, I was in the US for some time too, and I remember how much you miss home and your people when you’re away. I know it’s easy for me to say this when I’m not in your shoes right now, but please take care of yourself and your health too. If you get the time, try to have a video call with your family whenever you can. I know work can get really busy, but during my time away, even those little calls helped me a lot.
Sending lots of love your way, and I hope you get to visit home soon, even if it’s during a long weekend.
Thank you so much for understanding I do miss home and my people, and honestly, some days are harder than others. But I’m trying to stay strong, take care of myself, and keep going. Your words and concern really mean a lot to me.
This hit differently. We often don’t realize how valuable ordinary moments are until they stop being ordinary.
Building a future sometimes means spending some time away from the people who make life feel like home. The difficult part is making sure we don’t postpone those people indefinitely while chasing that future.
I hope you get to take that trip home soon. And when you do, enjoy your mother’s food, your father’s advice, the arguments with your siblings, and all those little moments you mentioned. Those are the things we eventually remember most. 🙂
Take care of yourself out there.
Yes, I’m thinking of going next Sunday itself. Thanks!
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