The weight of my backpack puts a strain on my neck as I walk in exhaustive steps towards chapel. I plop down next to my friend whose eyes are fixated on his phone, and I can tell the game he’s playing has him more concentrated than if he were taking the ACT. I look at the chapel speaker who has just begun his message, and the sound of his voice fills the air with words I will never hear. I arrive a tad late, 10:09 a.m., and instincivetly pull out my phone. The next 45 minutes are spent scrolling through countless videos and pictures on Instagram.
Here at Union University, the urge to take our community for granted is all too real. Events like chapel are neglected and under appreciated. Many students respond negatively to this atmosphere that makes them feel trapped. It’s known as the “Union bubble.” Students use this term, with a roll of the eyes, to describe the sheltered feeling of living on such a openly Christian campus.
“I believe the bubble can contain some negative connotations,” junior nursing major Landon Ross said. “Christians are called to be in the world but not of it. But how are we to be in the world if we only limit ourselves to the bubble?”
Students often feel trapped in a certain experience at Union, where they spend most of their daily life with other believers. This atmosphere can be percieved as monotonous over a larger stretch of time. Some feel a lack of connection to the world outside of this university, because the Union’s values are typically not the values society emphasizes.
But the real world is right next door. Students will ideally graduate from Union and move outside the bubble, into the real world. It’s important to recognize that this “bubble atmosphere” only exists for a short period of time compared to the rest of post-college life. This awareness can make students’ time at Union more valuable, and therefore better utilized.
***
When I was about 13-years-old, I lived in Southern India with my family, serving alongside a Christian organization there. I lived at an orphanage surrounded by tall, white walls that enclosed me like a prison. I rarely left them except for church and the occasional outreach program to another village. I studied under massive, vibrantly colored trees that sheltered me from the blistering heat. I drank hot Indian tea with the children’s cooks, laughed with them, smiled with them and prayed with them. Initially, the idea of being stuck in one place with the same people for three months horrified me. Even there, I was trapped in a bubble that consisted of daily schoolwork, milling around in the sand that covered the floor of the compound like a wet blanket, and pondering my future in this dark place.
But that bubble changed my life.
Sitting on a barstool with a cup of Indian tea in my hand and a smile on my face, I will never forget the moment I realized the little bubble I lived in was changing my perspective and ultimately changing my heart. I loved all the people there, and they poured into me with a love that brings me to tears even now. My interactions with people who loved the Lord passionately and were pursuing him only drew me closer to Christ. I learned and worshipped God in a community of believers, and it was this community that I’ll never forget. I’ll never forget the orphanage cook’s radiant smiles or the plump body frame of a man named David who worked as the repairman. And I definitely won’t forget how they laid hands on my shoulders and prayed earnestly for my family and me on a daily basis.
That same type of community halfway across the globe is available for all students here at Union. It’s easy to forget what Union offers in the day-to-day walks to class. But after slowing down and looking around, it’s obvious that the christian community here is worth embracing. It provides avenues for students to serve, learn and grow, and it could very well be life-changing.
But they often overlook the beauty of this community because of a fear of conformity, of becoming the stereotypical Christian college students. If they embrace Union’s opportunities and values, the fear is that they will become like everyone around them. College students are constantly on social media platforms that tell them to be unique and original. As a result students actively avoid the common values that feel mainstream, even if those values are healthy.
The urge to not conform at Union leaves people not just going against the grain, but going against Union’s values as a whole, in order to feel like they’re outside the bubble. Students don’t want to engage in school events and activities for fear of just being like everyone else.
***
As I sat in chapel that day, I glanced up from my phone to find hundreds of shining screens reflecting on hundreds of faces. I wasn’t the only one on my phone, disengaged. My reason for pulling out my phone wasn’t from boredom or fatigue, it was actually out of fear. I was scared that by paying attention, I was conforming in some way. The fear of the bubble had changed my entire perspective on chapel.
Paula Wentley, a sophomore nursing major at Union, said that the bubble could be useful if viewed differently.
“Usually when I hear about the bubble, it’s in a negative way,” Wentley said. “I don’t see it like that. I think it’s a unique experience that we should embrace. We only have four years here, and we’re in a certain setting that will help us develop a relationship with God.”
Chapel is just one example of avenues at Union that students can use to further personal spiritual growth. All of them revolve around the community that turns the Union bubble from something negative into something positive.
“Students can take advantage of GO trip opportunities. Different clubs and organizations on campus are all designed around one aspect of the Christian walk: community,” Landon said.
It would be shame if students missed out on this valuable part of time at college due to fear or a misguided perspective. The hope is that Union will be a place of spiritual growth, and the “bubble” only serves to equip them for their next experiences.
“Every place you live in will have some sort of bubble. Are you going to be willing to be in the bubble, or are you going to fight it?” challenged Paula.
Four years, 1,460 days, 2,102,400 seconds. It’s time to lean in and make every moment here count.