A while ago, I went on a day-long trip to the Eastern Shore. I woke up early, got in the car, and drove east until I hit the James River, three hours later. There, I met up with my godmother, who caravanned with me from Newport News to Yorktown to Williamsburg. It was, all in all, a lovely day spent exploring small cities along the water and embracing the warm fall weather and sunny, cloudless skies. We grabbed dinner outside in Williamsburg as we caught up on each other’s lives since we’d last met. A one-man band strummed his guitar in the background. Then I got back in my car and headed home to Charlottesville.
Upon my return, it had become gloomy in Charlottesville — the once-blue skies had turned pitch black, there was a coat of rain lining the streets. I had been enjoying my time in the car, practicing sentimentalism, enjoying the darkly-lit landscape and singing along to whatever happened to be playing on the radio. So when I realized I was only 5 minutes from my apartment, a crazy thought entered my head: what if I just kept driving?
We talk a lot about getting stuck in a “U.Va. bubble,” and that’s something that, from my own experience at least, definitely exists. But, seeing as I’m someone who has an incurable case of cabin fever, I have no problem doing what I can to escape from the regularities of a strictly scheduled, prim-and-perfect life here. What’s more difficult than convincing myself to leave that oft-discussed bubble is convincing myself to come back to it.
To be fair, I do have a hard time breaking the bubble as often as I should. As a first year, left in dorms and without a car, I regularly found myself wishing to be able to escape and explore more of the world around me. I told myself that next year — this year — it would be different, and I would have more time and opportunity to do just that. Yet here I am, barely able to find an opportunity to run away, yet still relishing any chance to do so.
Driving through the dark, rainy Charlottesville outskirts a couple weeks ago made me ask myself: why don’t we do this more often? There’s an entire world outside U.Va. full of people and experiences far more important than whatever we’re doing solely for the sake of increasing our GPAs. I wonder why we find it so difficult to get up and to go, to just take a brief moment and explore whatever else may be outside these hallowed halls?
Undoubtedly, it is hard to do. There’s no lack of things to keep us busy: constant deadlines, activities, projects, opportunities and events insist on keeping our attentions. Not to mention, many people generally enjoy things here and it doesn’t always feel like “escape” is necessary. Why turn them away from obligations or entertainment right in front of us for the sake of traveling off Grounds to find something equally — if not more —important but slightly more distant or difficult to reach?
Difficult though it may be, it is nevertheless important to make time to not only enjoy the classic college experience so many of us long for, but also to reach beyond that and challenge ourselves to be exposed to scenes and experiences occurring outside of U.Va. boundaries. As my experience with my godmother showed me, getting away can replenish your energy and, hopefully, make your time in the “bubble” more precious.
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