When Abbey Mirigliano left Pittsburgh to attend Syracuse University, she quickly realized that leaving the comfort and safety of home is never easy to do.

She now has a tattoo of her hometown alongside a heart, so she can always carry a piece of home with her.

Mirigliano began her education at SU earlier than most, due to her enrollment in SummerStart. At first she was excited because she thought that the program would be an easy way to make friends, but she was wrong.

“It was a rough experience because no one was on campus,” Mirigliano said. “The program was great, I just didn’t feel like I got to meet a lot of people.”

Mirigliano was originally drawn to SU because of its large student body. She was eager to meet people and develop lifelong friendships. But she was disappointed when she realized there weren’t a lot of people on campus yet, and felt quite alone, she said.

“All of my friends were finishing their last summer together, and I was at school with nobody,” Mirigliano said.

Courtesy of Abbey Mirigliano

Mirigliano vividly recalls sitting in a lounge in Ernie Davis Hall, FaceTiming her mom throughout the entirety of a Cardinals vs. Pirates baseball game. She and her mother always bonded over sports. She said that not physically being at the game was a difficult experience, but it brought them closer together.

Once the fall semester began and she met more people, Mirigliano’s homesickness began to fade away. She never forgot the lesson she learned that year — how much home means to her.

When she returned to Pittsburgh the summer after her freshman year, she decided to get her tattoo, which is on the side of her right foot.

“I decided to get it on my foot because everywhere you go, you use your feet to walk,” Mirigliano said. “Everywhere I go, home is with me.”

After three years at SU she has developed a deep love for the university. Being abroad in London, she now misses two places.

“Before coming to London, I had only felt homesick for home. Now, I feel homesick for Syracuse, too,” Mirigliano said.

Although it’s upsetting to constantly miss home, Mirigliano remains positive. She has found a home in both Pittsburgh and Syracuse, and is grateful to have built relationships in both places.

“Being homesick has made me realize that I could lean on people in a way that I never knew I could,” Mirigliano said. “That is a lesson that definitely stays with me, to this very day.”

Published on October 3, 2017 at 12:16 am

Contact Raven: rarentas@syr.edu