Joseph Campbell and The Hero’s Journey The Hero’s Journey is the typical hero sequence of actions detected in stories throughout history, essentially the one deed done by many, in the cycle of departure, fulfillment and return. The basic motif of the Hero’s Journey: leaving one condition, finding the source of life to bring you forth in a richer or mature or “other” condition.

The first stage of the journey is leaving the light (the known) and moving to the threshold of the unknown, where the monster / abyss comes to meet you. This can be seen also in initiation rituals; the child has to give up his childhood and become an adult; has to die to its infantile psyche and personality to become a self- responsible adult (a fundamental experience under which everyone has to go)

How does this apply to you? You are a high school senior, applying to college, or seeking employment, contemplating what to do with your future, where you’ll live, what you’ll study, who you’ll leave behind…

You are leaving the known…

To help you embark on your journey, your first assignment is to consider where you’re heading. However, in order to do this successfully, you need to consider your eventual return. Where would you like to be at that point in your journey?

Goals Essay The objective here is twofold: 1)To force you to formalize a post-high school path on which you set yourself Long term goals will then dictate your short term goals Verbalizing where you need to be, eventually, will help you to take the first step this year in reaching that goal

Where are you going?

2)Writing this essay will give me insight into your personal critical thinking abilities, as well as your writing style and level of expertise. This allows me to guide you more effectively when editing your college essay. This also enables me to open up a dialogue with you regarding where you hope to be sometime in the future, and help keep you focused on that path.

Goal Setting 1.Short term goal: Where do you want to be this time next year? 2.Middle range goal: Where do you see yourself in five years? 3.Long term goal: Where do you see yourself in the long run? This could be where you see yourself when you’re fifty, when you retire, when you’re eighty or more. Pick a point at which you’d like to be able to look back and say “I accomplished this” …and you are fulfilled because of it.

Due: Monday, September 16 th, 2013 Late papers will not only incur one full letter grade reduction for each day that they are late, but they will also not lend very nicely to actual accomplishment of your goals…since you can’t even hand the ideas in on time. Don’t put this one off.

Take control of your journey