The Odyssey: How A Journey Molds A Person

How a Journey Molds a Person When one is on a journey, it tends to be more important than the destination, especially when it can change a person’s life for the better. Asha Tyson, an author who wrote on how to retire at age 26, once wrote “Your journey has molded you for your greater good, and it was exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think you’ve lost time. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now and now is the right time.” Because of this voyage through life, a person progresses towards a target, learning throughout the way until reaching their goal. This makes the journey matter more than the destination. A big part of that trip that makes it more important than the destination is the choices one will make. Like Odysseus and his men when they came across the Lotus-Eaters in The Odyssey, they came to the island to pick up supplies, only to get sidetracked on the way. “I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, and called to rest: All hands aboard; come, clear the bench and no one taste the Lotus, or you lose your hope of home” (Homer 101-105). Odysseus knew that the lotus was impairing their judgement, so he did what he thought was best and made his men and himself leave. He made this choice for the well …show more content…
With all that one has gained, whether it be knowledge or power, it makes an individual stronger. As C.P. Cavafy said in the poem “Ithaka”, “Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. Without her you would have not set out… Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, you will have understood what these Ithakas mean” (Cavafy 32-37). It’s because of the journey that one was able to do all these different things that one can learn from, making a person tougher and more tenacious. If there was no trek before a destination, no one would meet new people, make stupid mistakes to reflect from and correct, and nothing to learn