Graphic by Saylor Hark

At Colgate University, we often talk about the “Colgate bubble.” It’s a phrase that perfectly captures the small, comforting world that we live in here. We can’t walk across the quad without running into a familiar face, mornings at Frank Dining Hall mean greeting friends over coffee and the library can sometimes feel as much like a social space as an academic one. I find something deeply endearing about that closeness. 

But that comfort also creates a sort of isolation. Within the bubble, it’s easy to feel like life beyond Hamilton doesn’t quite exist, or at least doesn’t feel real. Our routines — classes, clubs and social circles — define us in ways that we might not notice until we step outside them. 

I had this realization when I decided to spend a semester abroad in London. As someone who has never travelled abroad before, I looked forward to a change of pace. I didn’t expect, however, that this experience would challenge the version of myself that I thought I knew within Colgate’s bubble. As cliché as it sounds, I chose to spend this semester exploring the United Kingdom, but also my concept of self. 

In London, no one knew what my major was or what organizations I was involved in, nor did they really care. When I started making friends there, no one asked about those things or whether I belonged to a Greek letter organization. Freed from the constant hum of campus life, I started rediscovering small joys that had quietly slipped away. 

For the first time in a while, I had to decide what I wanted to do with my weekends. At Colgate, my schedule was often determined by academics and extracurriculars. I also felt the unspoken pressure to keep up with campus nightlife, worried that missing a party meant missing out on friendship. In London, there was no script to follow. Suddenly, I had unstructured time alone, forcing me to figure out what I actually enjoyed. 

At first, that freedom was unsettling. I wasn’t sure how to spend my time, because I was always so occupied with doing the “right” [read: popular] thing at Colgate. But over time, I learned how to fill it with things that felt more authentic to me, rather than what my Colgate peers were doing. 

In London, I chose to revisit the National Gallery multiple times and found myself entirely immersed in a new routine. The layout of the National Gallery and my favorite streets in London became entrenched in my mind and I embraced a version of myself that didn’t exist at Colgate. I learned that I loved journaling in cafes and playing cards at pubs with my friends. I also rediscovered my love for reading and spent a ton of time talking to street artists across the United Kingdom. 

While I always thought that students describing study abroad as “life changing” was an exaggeration, I can now attest to its truthfulness. Studying abroad means something different to everyone, but for me, it was about embracing who I am, not what Colgate defined me as. As someone who lives within a short driving distance of Colgate, this was my first opportunity to explore somewhere truly unfamiliar — not just geographically, but personally. Distance gave me perspective. The version of me that felt so fixed within the “Colgate bubble” finally felt more fluid. I saw how much of my life was shaped by expectations and proximity rather than intention. 

Now that I’m back on campus for the spring semester of my junior year, I have returned with a solidified grasp of my identity and a stronger love for Colgate. I’ve committed to the things and experiences that truly excite me, whether that be my coursework, new extracurricular activities or the things I embrace in my free time. My room is now decorated with art projects, annotated books and memories from my time abroad and I’ve regained excitement about participating in class.

The Colgate bubble can be a beautiful thing — it makes this place feel like home. But, it’s also important to step outside it, to see ourselves not just as students or club members, but as people still learning who we are. 

Sometimes, it takes leaving the bubble to understand how much of yourself exists beyond it.