I always look forward to seeing my extended family, and this past mid-term break I was lucky enough to find myself in that very situation. As stereotypical tendencies would have it, we ended up getting into various conversations revolving around politics, society and the world in general. The words exchanged weren’t mean-spirited; in fact, they were actually quite refreshing. As we spoke with one another, I began to compare this conversation to some that I’ve had on campus. I’m not claiming that one experience was better than the other, I’m just making the very Minnesotan observation that they were … different.

        Hamline isn’t different from other campuses in the sense that it has a tendency to wrap students into a college “bubble”. In this perspective, the campus becomes the main focus for the student. It is their entire world, and some things that exist beyond it get pushed to the side. This is a natural reaction, in a sense. For many, college is the first time they  truly experience being on their own. The campus is where all of the action in their lives takes place, so it makes sense that their attention does not go much beyond that. We’ve all been there. It is an easy habit to slip into.

        This becomes problematic because, as we all know, college is not all that there is to life. Or, as a carving in a wooden desk at Bush Library suggests, “college is not necessary to succeeding in life”. When mountains of homework climb and commitments stack up, this can be difficult to remember. Overall, I will say that Hamline students are extremely well-rounded. We have multiple jobs and internships under our belts and we’re out volunteering while running all around the Twin Cities. That’s important, because some colleges in more rural areas or small towns do not have that opportunity. They don’t have a large community full of things to do or seek out surrounding them. We’re lucky, in that respect.

        Basically, what I’m trying to say here is take advantage of that. Resist the urge to limit yourself to the confines of our campus. Hamline is a lovely place, but it is not the only place. Think about it: being in the Midway neighborhood, we have so much at our fingertips. For example, the light rail station is literally a fifteen-minute walk away. It can get you anywhere within the Cities. Go out and explore. Expose yourself to new things!

        This is not to drag on Hamline at all. Our institution does a commendable job of bringing in speakers and offering different types of events for student body members. Still, though, some perspectives fall through the cracks and are not as readily represented. Of course, regardless of where you find yourself, this will be the case. Nothing will be fairly represented; we all know that. But after a while, hearing some of the same perspectives over and over again gets stale. We crave variety. As people in our young, impressionable twenties, it is vital that we introduce ourselves to as many differing opinions as possible, even if we don’t necessarily agree with them.

        This, in turn, sparks discussion. We get plenty of that in a college setting, I acknowledge that, but taking these conversations off campus creates a completely new mindset. Hamline is a small campus. The Twin Cities is larger. Minnesota is larger. The United States is larger. I could go on, but I digress. College is our focus right now because of our stage in life, but press yourself to look beyond that. Gaining real life experience for post-college life requires taking time to seek out the chance to learn more about the world around us instead of staying stuck in our own heads.