Developing My Hero’s Journey
It is undeniable that university is a big step. I’ve been in class for two weeks and honestly, I’m still nervous. This is the moment (for most people anyway) where you really cross the line into independent adulthood — until you go home for the holidays. My dad said university is a place that will drastically widen my worldview very quickly, a place where I can create connections, dive deeper into knowledge, and challenge my perspectives. But he also told me to explore because while studying is important, I should also experience opportunities to their fullest. It is pretty solid advice because I feel like I held myself back in secondary school, and that led to me only getting really close to more people in the last few years.
My primary school years were spent in a Catholic convent school. (I’m not religious, I went because of the school’s prestige and it really just solidified the fact I’m probably not going to be for the rest of my life) The teachers were strict and we were groomed to a specific standard to maintain the school’s reputation. Grading was harsh, homework was gruelling and dress hems were measured down to the millimetre with rulers. So it was shocking to transfer to an international school where everyone else already had their friend groups and a sense of self-confidence that allowed them to easily voice their thoughts. My other more outgoing classmates had grown up together in a freer atmosphere, so they already knew what they liked and who they wanted to be. Yet my previous experiences had left me with a much more conservative viewpoint, and I continued to self impose these ideals for a while with a sense of rigid discipline atypical of a twelve-year-old.
I learnt about the hero’s journey in my English literature class, and it’s a sequence of departure, initiation and return. In other words, leaving a safe space, facing trials, and returning to their roots with new perspectives and knowledge. Only after the cycle is complete can a character be labelled the protagonist of a story. While this concept is often seen in fictional literary characters like Odysseus, a typical strong male hero, it’s also present in Psyche, Jane Eyre and Lilo and Stitch.
With this diversity, it isn’t hard to believe that we can undergo the same transformation. Only while they complete it once, we do it again and again in our lifetimes. I went through way too many rather embarrassing phases before feeling more comfortable in my own skin. I will admit that I’m not the most social, smartest, healthiest, or even morally straight person. In short, I’m far from perfect. But I’ve also realised that the friends who mean most to me liked me just the same if I had other interests, habits or qualities, and I fully intend to continue this learning journey in university while stepping out of my comfort zone.
Thanks for reading! I’d really appreciate it if you’d stick around and keep reading my future posts :)
