In a continuation of last week, the next step Campbell discusses, is The Meeting with the Goddess. This is the point in the Journey where the Hero encounters the fair maiden or beautiful princess, who he is destined to be with. Now that that's been explained, let's get real. Life really works out like this for maybe 0.001% of people in college. You aren't going to meet your soulmate at the first party you go to, and you're not going to happen to sit next to Mr. or Ms. Right on your very first day of class, Freshman year.
College is about meeting people and forming many different types of relationships. Maybe you do have one significant other throughout your college years, or maybe you have a few, and maybe you don't have a single one at all. This part of the Journey is different for everyone, and there is no way to unlock its secret. You can only identify the person you should be with through trial and error. You are going to have those periods of intense highs, but you will also go through those bitter breakups. The key to this stage of your Journey in college is to keep moving forward, and to take the good with the bad because someday, somehow, things will always work out.
The next step in the Hero's Journey is the Temptation. If college has a lot of one thing it's temptation. There is the temptation to sleep in, the temptation to skip class, to drink on a weekday, to cheat on a test. These temptations have the power to pull you from your Journey and they can cause you to lose sight of the reasons that you're in college. Some people succumb to these temptations, and never manage to complete their journey. Understanding and managing these temptations must be mastered, in order to complete your Journey.
Over time you will learn your weaknesses and learn how to deal with them. Maybe you can't for the life of you get up on time for a 9 AN class. Once you understand this temptation, you can conquer it by either going to bed earlier, or doing your best to schedule classes only in the afternoon. A little bit of temptation isn't a bad thing, but be sure that you don't let anything pull you from your Journey. Always keep the final goal in mind.
The next step along the Hero's Journey is The Atonement with the Father. In this step, the Hero must confront the thing that holds the ultimate power over him. In the Hero's Journey, they use the example of a father, but this power can take the form of almost anything. A lot of times in college, you may feel powerless, with no control over your environment. The college or university has an almost ultimate power over your life. It can dictate your schedule, where and who you live with, and it can determine what you spend almost all of your days doing. Therefore it is important to understand this power, and learn to accept and work with it, to fit your life.
Sometimes, you won't have much control over your schedule. Maybe all the classes you wanted to take are full. This doesn't mean that you should give up! Get on the waiting list, or take different classes that sound interesting. Don't miss an opportunity to learn from any experience in college, whether it be good or bad. The constant pressure of school can be a lot sometimes, so make sure that you can schedule time for yourself. If you take just one hour out of your day to sit in a dark quiet room, and take some deep breaths, it can have a positive effect on the rest of your day. Recognize the power that school has over you, but understand that there are ways to make sure that you are looking out for yourself.
The Apotheosis is the second-to-last step in the Initiation phase of the Hero's Journey. It can be looked at as period of relative calm before the Hero begins his return. These relative calms may come at the end of a long period of trials, or when they are least expected. In college, it is important to take advantage of these calms and use them to recharge for the trials that follow. If you try to be busy too much of the time, you will find yourself burned out. Come to appreciate the days where you get to sleep in. Take advantage of those lazy Saturdays. Use your downtime to do something you enjoy and decompress, because those breaks won't last forever, and before you know it, it's midterms.
The last stage of Initiation is the Ultimate Boon. This is the achievement or goal of the Hero's Journey. In the long term this can be looked at as graduating, or being accepted into grad school. In the short term, this can mean getting a good grade on an exam ,or finally finishing a paper that you had been procrastinating over, all the way up to the night before its due date. These things are often very hard earned, and you should look at them with pride and respect. You only get what you earn in this life ,and these good grades or other achievements, are testaments to your success in college and in life. Strive to achieve everything you set out to do, and your life will be full of these boons.
