Four thousand nine hundred miles from campus, I sat at a table with one of my best friends and  15 other students I had never met before. Everyone had different accents, was studying different topics and came from different parts of the world.

On my left, two people spoke German, and on my right, people discussed the latest football match. Our one common factor was that we were in our 20s, and we had all just met at church.

As a group, the conversation bounced between different subjects, including our varying education systems, our favorite sports, our views on politics, places we wanted to travel, and many other topics. With the majority of our table studying at the top university in the world, it was safe to say I did not have much to add to the conversation. My British friends were confused by the concept of Saturday Night Live, and I was confused by the fact that the pastor had invited the congregation to the pub after service, something that seemed normal to everyone around me.

I have often heard ACU described as a bubble, and personally, I think that it is. We spend most of our lives on a tiny campus where everyone knows everyone. We meet every day at 11 a.m. to celebrate our shared beliefs.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. It is nice to meet people who share common beliefs and values; however, the problem occurs when we become too comfortable, when we are not challenged or pushed to meet new people or try new things.

As a freshman and sophomore, there were many times when I would go a week or more without moving my car from its same parking spot. One of the only times I left campus was to go to church every week, where I sit with my fellow ACU students and listen to an ACU alumnus preach.

Study Abroad popped this bubble for me.

During my time in Oxford, England, I was forced out of the ACU bubble in the best way. I met people from all over the world who had all sorts of different life experiences. I volunteered with a woman who worked for the government in Singapore, I was taught by a professor who worked as a Bible translator, and I became friends with a girl from Germany who was working for a year as a nanny.

Even when I met with Christians, they were different than what I was used to. In Abilene, Christianity is the air we breathe. We attend a Christian university in a town with two other Christian universities. At ACU, it is more normal to claim to be a Christian than not, and our faith is rarely tested. In Oxford, this was not the case. Oxford is highly academic and secular. Christians are much rarer and must regularly give a defense for their faith. The Christians I met were bold, standing on street corners preaching and relying on the Gospel for everything.

The people I met were kind and curious. They asked me questions about my life, and I asked them the same. Looking back, I do not think there is one big lesson I learned. More than anything, I was humbled. I was reminded again and again that perhaps there are different ways to live and learn and that I am imperfect.

I asked stupid questions, but they responded with kindness. I was confused by transportation systems, but learned to figure it out, and I learned that perhaps what happens on this tiny campus is not the most important thing. Sure, it matters, but it is not the whole world.

I am not naive enough to believe that everyone can study abroad, but I am a firm believer that if you can, you should, and we all should do our best to step out of our comfort zone and grow by popping the ACU bubble.

Even in our day-to-day lives in Abilene, there are a million ways to step out. Volunteer, get a job, visit a new church, meet people off campus and ask questions. Say yes to new adventures and listen to those with opinions different than your own.