Heroes and Mystics 2024

I think that the journey of my mom is one that relates to a lot that we talked about in class. My mom came from a family that had its own set of issues. She went to therapy as a child to deal with these things but I see that they still affect her to this day. One day when she was a kid and was going through all of these things, she called up her local church and asked to get confirmed. Since then, she has been a practicing Catholic and has raised 6b christian kids. What a powerful lesson that is, to cease our own story and to create the life that we want to live. Her journey inspires me to listen to my own interior self when going on my journey. 

  When we think of a journey, it's frequently depicted crossing stormy seas, oftentimes in a sailboat. For me, that depiction is nothing short of accurate. I recently joined the CNU sailing team, for no reason other than to try something new, and it has been the best decision that I have made. Joining the sailing team will be one of the greatest markers in the journey that I tell my kids about. I have learned discipline and grit and how to be a teammate, all in one semester. I get up early in the morning to work out with the team not out of fear of punishment, or fear of my body looking a certain way, but for different reasons. I value my own words that told me to wake up the night before, I love my teammates and coaches so I will show up for them, and I want the future of CNU sailing to be even greater than it has been for me.

Upon reflecting on the journey of finding oneself I often go back to my injuries that I suffered from in highschool. With modern medicine I am so blessed that there are such minimal effects that I currently feel, but I definitely think that those were formative times for me in my growth as a person. I think that we all naturally cling to the things that we are good at to define ourselves and I definitely did that in highschool. When I saw myself as nothing more than an athlete, and then suddenly I couldn’t even walk for months… that was pretty devastating to me. All that being said, I believe those years were part of the journey to the person I am now. When someone asks me the things that I am good at or love about myself, athleticism is not the first thing anymore, rather its interior qualities such as loyalty and creativity.

  The urge to go on a run away journey has been STRONG recently. I have always wanted to study abroad, but it's honestly a really long and tedious process. There is a lot of paperwork and meetings and planning. I can be quite the procrastinator, so getting all of this done has been quite the challenge, BUT I am happy to say that I will be going to Lima, Peru this summer. Lima has become so much more than a future service learning trip for me. When I get worried about finals or get sad that I don't have much time to read my books, I think about Peru. Peru is so symbolic to me of going on a journey to find myself. I think of the quote from Gandhi “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” and I hope that that will be me this summer. 

  Recently someone asked me to rank my nicknames that people call me and that question really got me thinking. I immediately went to rank “gabby” as number 1 because it is what most people call me. Is that really my favorite though? I’m not even sure I know the answer to that. I love when people that I am getting closer to try to make their own variations- gab, gabs, gangster, or even the more recent “gabatron”. It feels so special when people try to make a name for you on their own. I think that our names hold so much deep meaning; it’s the verbalization of who we are to other people and they can mean so many things. I do love my name, and I feel a great deal of love for “gabby” and all its variations.

Another one of the many books that I am simultaneously reading with other books that I am really excited about is The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael Alan Singer. Although I am not very far in the novel, I think that the first bit that I have read is already so rich and ties in well to Somewhere I Have Never Traveled because of the idea of the sense of self. Both works mention the idea that we as humans are always trying to grapple with our sense of selves. I think that it is a really interesting concept and my philosophy, perhaps it's just the easy out, is that our brains were simply not created to be able to comprehend things outside of our world. I think it's a great thing to try but I believe that there is so much more knowledge that we cannot know.

One of the many books that I am reading currently is a novel called “He gets us” and it is about asking modern day questions and applying them to Jesus. I chose to read this book because I follow the “He gets us” account on instagram. The book also includes excerpts from Max Lucado, who I read as a child and still really enjoy to this day. The journey of Jesus Christ is the story arch that we can see in any famous movie or literature- Star wars, the classics, disney movies, children’s books, any story where there is a sacrificial hero. For this reason I have found it really fascinating to read about Jesus’ story through a modern lens, because to me His story was the first and greatest hero’s journey.

  I have not finished, but I have been working on reading “Surprised by Joy” by CS Lewis for a long time now. Something about me is that I LOVE CS Lewis. I his writing style- he is witty, logical, and to the point but also simultaneously is gentle and understanding of the human condition. Although I have not finished the novel yet, its whole purpose is certainly fitting to the idea of the interior journey. In the novel, Lewis describes his whole life in such great detail that we are even able to know about the toys he played with as a kid and his primary school teachers and then hear about his conversion story from atheist to anglican. To hear about how he used his imagination as a child was particularly fascinating because it gives the reader insight into how he was able to grasp for outside of his reality (like the cosmos) and then see how that later translated into his spiritual life. 

In my honors seminar from last semester, Naturalism Across Disciplines, we spoke a lot about how the naturalistic point of view can be found in lots of different things, from literature to movies. One of the books that we read was called Therese Raquin by Emelie Zola and it focused on the namesake of the book, Therese. She was a prostitute in old France and it was a really interesting depiction of her life journey from start to finish. We saw that she started out as an innocent and pure little girl who lived in the countryside, but is then forced out of her home because she was pregnant and by the end of the book ends up dying due to her lifestyle. She definitely had a hero’s journey that was tragic and fitting of the naturalistic genre.

The theme of Emerging Adulthood is something that I have learned a lot about while at CNU. In my first semester, my honors seminar was titled “Emerging Adulthood” and was taught by Dr Michaela Meyer and it was awesome. In that class, as well as a couple of my current social work and psychology classes we read and talked about Jeffery Arnett’s work “Emerging Adulthood”. He was the first person to coin the term for this age group between adulthood and adolescence and I think that it was really important that he did. Certainly for me, this time in between adolescence and adulthood has been a uniquely great part of my interior journey. Having learned a lot about this age group and how it is its own specific time within our life journey and now having learned more about our interior life journeys has been really fascinating. 

It was really lovely to talk about the Iliad again after having read it in highschool. I think that through this class i was able to look at the story through a new lens. Most of the classics in my opinion, like the Iliad and the Odyssey, are the epitome of the hero’s journey but I have learned so much more about what these journeys mean through this class. For example, when Achilles journeys to the underworld we can view this as part of his self discovery journey. When he is able to see that he will die, it helps him to better understand himself and his fleeting journey. I think that this is so applicable to our lives too; it's things like funerals or unexpected deaths that help us to understand our own journey by revealing that it is shorter than we think. 

In Somewhere I have never Traveled, there was so much valuable information only within the first page. It explains that we can't just be whoever we want to be because the perception of ourselves from the people around us helps to make us who we are. It also touches on our inner darkness that makes up who we are inside. It is certainly interesting to think about how we have this inner person inside us, that we partially control/shape and partially don't, but this cannot change the way that people outside perceive us. They are going to create a version of ourselves in their own head that we can only influence to a certain degree. 

I n the movie, Cold Fever , it was a really interesting depiction of the hero's journey because it showed the protagonist being reluctant to the journey. I think we more often than not see a hero who is motivated and willing to go on their journey, however we see the contrary in this movie. It is also notable that the viewer saw the icelandic wilderness. This emphasizes the idea that there was no feeling of human presence and that he was on this journey alone, bringing light on the fact that it was an interior journey more than anything.

In Star Trek, we were able to see the importance of communication. It was fascinating to see how a language barrier can be so detrimental to the success of civilizations. Seeing the way that the two leaders were unable to understand each other felt symbolic of how there is so often a language barrier for people who do not speak English in the United states. I have seen this in my own volunteering community, where some friends of mine work with immigrants, and it makes it very difficult to fill out the paperwork when there is no one who speaks the same language as the clients. 

  In The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, on page 3 he says “Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestation” (Page 3). This quote caused me to ponder about, as we discussed in class, what he means by the ‘cosmos’ and how ‘myth’ relates to it. If myth and imagination are how the human intellect attempts to grasp at the unreal, then it makes sense that this would be the manner in which the cosmos are able to ‘pour’ into our reality. This would make sense because the word cosmos, from my understanding, refers to what we cannot grasp or understand because it is outside of our reality. 

 1. Appreciate the journey of your life. Even the times that seems transitional are so important. It is important to live in the moment instead of constantly looking forward to the next goal or phase in your life. 2. Myths and story telling allow us to recognize the order in the universe. Myth carry with them cultural identities that demonstrate the uniqueness of each culture. Yet, they also indicate a human desire to capture our existence in stories.  3. Truth. Truth is merely a mirror that reflects reality. It is not reality itself. The closer we get the truth, the more difficult it becomes to explain which is why we often refy on myths or story telling. 4. Liminal spaces allow us to explore who we are but they also allow others to influence how we see ourselves.  5. Nature is often a considered a place. However, nature is all around us. Nature is an idea, a product of culture.  6. Journeying away from home shows you where home is.  7. Journeying is beautiful ...

Over spring break I read the novel by Anthony Doerr called "All the Light We Cannot See" that follows a blind French girl and German soldier during World War II. Each chapter alternates perspectives between the two protagonists. The trajectory of their lives seem to be moving in completely opposite directions, but Doerr carefully weaves the two together. I won't get into it too much in case anyone still wants to read it. However, it reminds me of the story Dr Redick shared on the last day of class about his friend he met on the camino and how he felt God had placed him there in that moment. These types of stories give me a deeper appreciation for each person in my life. The chance that any of us exist is so small. Then the fact that we exist in the same place at the same time is even more rare. I don't believe any of this is a coincidence. Each person in our life is there for a reason. 

 For my final paper, I also read an article by Peter Freese titled " The ‘Journey of Life’ in American Fiction". Freese argues that the act of journeying is natural for human beings as it fulfills an innate curiosity. I think think this is compelling argument because as we mature, we often go through a phase where to desire to travel is heightened. I think this could be an explanation for why many young adults decide to attend college away from home. Our college experience fulfills a desire to journey, physically, but also mentally and emotionally. In gaining an education, we explore an intellectual landscape. By growing up, navigating conflict, and meeting new friends, we journey emotionally and psychologically.

When writing my final paper, I read an article titled "Terror and the Sublime" which discussed how the sublime can bring a kind of terror because it forces us to recognize how small we are. I think its interesting that today we often avoid fear at all costs. We create a safe life and don't often leave our comfort zones. Our homes protect us from the environment, our showers are warm, and our air conditioning/ heat regulate our temperature. Many of us will avoid the outdoors because it is uncomfortable or dirty but in reality staying indoors or in our urban setting prevents us from ever truly living. Terror reminds us of our humanity. Terror keeps us humble.  It could be argued that a heathy amount of terror is necessary for a fulfilling life. 

 I had never seen an episode of Star Trek before the class periods in which we watched what I will call the "Darmok and Jalad" episode. Looking back on the many texts and artifacts we have made use of throughout the semester, there really is a great variety, from classical works like Plato's Symposium , to medieval ones such as St. Julian, to contemporary media like Star Trek and Wings of Desire . This episode of Star Trek, despite airing in 1991, relates all the way back to the Phoenicians in 800 BC, who provided the alphabet for the Greeks; before this, myths weren't communicated through writing. For the Tamarians, myths were communicated through metaphor in an imagistic sense, and communicated only orally, vastly different from humans. This also relates back to truth and reason coming from myth, as it did for Plato. Overall, this episode tied all these observations together in an entertaining way and was beneficial for my understanding of this section of the class...

 One issue that is never out of the news these days is artificial intelligence. It seems that there is a new development or controversy every week concerning AI, and recently the stock market has been dependent on it, too, with companies like Nvidia making huge gains (or losses, like on Friday). I have read articles about the future of AI and many of them say that this is a turning point for technology, business, and human society as a whole. This reminded me of our discussion of liminal spaces, as it seems we are currently in one. AI is officially off the ground and in use, but it certainly hasn't reached its full potential; this is the in-between phase, a threshold. Liminal spaces are often periods of grwoth and change, and we can only hope that, like a hero's journey to the underworld, we come out of it for the better.

 I was moved by Dr. Redick's story about the Camino Primitivo that he told in our final class. To be frank, I was disappointed to be in this class at first, since I am a somewhat avid crossword puzzle fan and there was an honors seminar simply called "Crossword Puzzles." However, I have learned a lot this semester, (certainly more than I would have by doing Crossword Puzzles) and the last day of class really hit home for me that I was grateful to have taken this class. Just last night I was talking to my grandparents about this: they mentioned that one of their friends had hiked a camino in Spain and had a great experience, so I told them all about Dr. Redick's research and stories from his many hikes, highlighting Seamus' death and the powerful tribute made for him. 

 Last month, I attended a Veritas Forum about the future of religion. While this class wasn't specifically about religion, Christianity, Judaism, and others came up many times, and spirituality in general was discussed often. This forum was really interesting; one of the panelists was Dr. Gina Zurlo, a professor at Harvard University, who shared many statistics about religion data since 1900. At that time, almost 100% of the world was religious, whereas by 1970, only 81% of the world was. This is a huge drop and can be at least partially explained by the World Wars and how they affected intellectual thought. One worldview that came out of this time was existentialism, which we talked about in relation to the film Wings of Desire . The effects of war and conflict are showcased in the film, as the Berlin wall plays a key role. I was surprised by Zurlo's prediction that the world will be 92% religious in 2050, primarily due to high birth rates in places like Africa and South Asia,...

 In the first chapter of the Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, she mentions that she grew up with God-fearing parents, as well as 11 siblings. I immediately thought of my maternal grandfather, who grew up in the exact same situation. His family was very poor but his parents provided for him and taught him Christian values; he was able to attend Bob Jones University after a few years serving in the Navy. Following his education, he became a Navy Chaplain and served for many years all over the world. My mom lived everywhere growing up, from Japan to Scotland to Virginia to Guam. She has always been grateful for how her parents raised her and that they instilled both the Christian faith and the discipline required to maintain it in her from an early age. I have come to realize in the past few years how blessed I am to have a loving, stable family life, and that I can look forward to going home to be with them for breaks.  

 I recently watched a video series about the tenets of reformed theology; it went over topics such as Calvinism, predestination, Christology, and the sacraments. While predestination, or Calvinism in general, is a difficult concept to wrap your head around and come to terms with, one of the five points, irresistible grace, provides much reassurance. If we have been elected, or chosen, by God, then He loves us too much to let us go. At some point our lives, we will accept Jesus as our savior, and even if we turn away from the faith for many years, we will always be called back in. This reminded me of the subject of a different blog post I made, about St. Julian and her finding comfort in the phrase, Thou shalt not be overcome .  

 In chapter 48 of St. Julian's Revelations of Divine Love , she begins by saying, "He said not: Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be afflicted; but He said: Thou shalt not be overcome . This is a wonderful reminder that while the Christian life is not an easy one, and there will be hardships and persecution, we will triumph. This is one of the last revelations St. Julian wrote about, as she says at the end, "And soon after, all was close and I saw no more." I'm sure that it gave her great comfort in knowing that she would not be overcome, that "all shall be well." Throughout the journey that is our life here on Earth, it would do us good to remember this and take comfort in it as St. Julian did. 

  I saw A Million Miles Away with my family while celebrating my mom’s birthday. At the time, I would have rather played a board game, but I ended up writing my term paper about this movie, so I’m very glad we watched it. While watching, I felt that the main character, Mexican-American astronaut Jose M. Hernandez, was a perfect example of a modern day hero’s journey. While his tale isn’t necessarily mythical like Gilgamesh or Aeneas, it is still an epic story. Hernandez began as the son of migrant farmworkers in California, who sacrificed their hopes of owning a home in Michoacan to support Jose’s education. This is an example of sacrificial love, or the Greek agape . Heroical tropes such as the second self appear in the film in the form of Jose’s wife, Adela, who is charismatic where he is shy. I enjoyed A Million Miles Away much more than I was expecting; it tells an inspiring story without glossing over hardships or being too cheesy. 

  I saw Dune: Part Two over spring break with my dad. We briefly talked about this film during class; it relates well to a lot of the content we’ve covered this semester. Paul Atreides, the main character, undergoes a heroic journey throughout the two-part series. At the beginning of the first film, while he is talented, he is simply the teenage son of Duke Leto Atreides. However, after his family is betrayed and attacked by their enemies the Harkonnens, Paul learns the ways of the Fremen and becomes a messiah figure for them. He takes part in several shamanist rituals, such as drinking holy water and being tested by the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother. Overall, it is a highly religious and spiritual film, and I think it would be beneficial for us to watch in class.

  This semester, I read Murtagh by Christopher Paolini, a sequel to one of my favorite fantasy series - Eragon . While the other books in the series are more focused on adventure and heroism, this one featured a spiritual, shamanist presence in the form of Bachel, a witch and soothsayer. She has a dedicated, cultist following and is unusually powerful. It reminded me of the film clips we watched in class with the Native American shaman and the supernatural abilities he possessed. I can’t recall the main character’s name, but he was tormented by the shaman and couldn’t believe the voodoo-like torture he was being subjected to. Similarly, Murtagh was astonished and caught off guard by Bachel’s superhuman strength, prophetic abilities, and seemingly limitless power that she drew from her master. Murtagh himself is incredibly powerful, as he is a dragon Rider. There’s an interesting parallel between the main character being European (he and his crew were trying to colonize part of Amer...

In James Clear’s best-selling book Atomic Habits , he repeatedly talks about prioritizing the process, or system, over the goal. This reminded me of our lengthy discussions about journeys and how they relate to destinations. When walking a Spanish camino or the Appalachian Trail, the healing and spiritual growth that comes with that experience is not from reaching the end. Rather, it stems from the days spent walking in nature and connecting with companions and other people on the trail. Similarly, Clear posits that when you find happiness on the journey, the destination becomes much easier to reach. I have found this to be true in my own life, as I perform much better in school when I enjoy and am challenged by the work I’m doing. This brief quote from the book sums things up: “Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.” I would be interested to hear Dr. Redick’s thoughts about the relationship between Atomic Habits and his writings on veterans’ ...

  Much of our class discussion throughout the semester, particularly the first half, was rooted in classics. I studied Greek for a short period of time in middle school and took Latin all four years of high school, so it was rewarding to continue my education in these from a different standpoint. One of my main takeaways from this study concerns C.S. Lewis’s The Four Loves ; while I was aware of them, I had never thought about the distinction between them. I had considered, though, that in English, we use the same word to express different kinds of loves. The phrase, “I love him,” could be used to express a deep passion for a romantic partner, or a lighthearted affection for a friend or celebrity. I found the Greeks’ distinction between storge, philia, eros, and agape to be quite useful. Also, the Greeks’ appreciation of for philia and the loss of modern-day friendship was eye-opening, especially since loneliness and mental health issues are a huge issue in today’s society; perh...

  Our discussion of the relationship between magic and science was riveting, in part because of its connection to Judaism. Martin Buber, in I and Thou , noted that magic tries to be effective without a relationship, by manipulating objects. This occurs in the 3rd person, whereas prayer, an essential aspect of being in relationship with God, involves stepping before a countenance. We talked about how Moses wanted to see God’s face, but God only allowed to see him from behind; even so, the glory of God remained on Moses, so he had to wear a veil because men were unable to look upon him afterward. This, along with the explanation of the Hebrew Yahweh , were very interesting to me since I’m a Christian.

  I found our reading of Thomas Van Nortwick’s Somewhere I Have Never Traveled fascinating, both for its exploration of famous heroic journeys and its explanation of the second self. I knew next to nothing about the Epic of Gilgamesh, so I enjoyed learning about it and found it especially interesting that it involved the first instance of the second self in Western literature. Additionally, this quote from Van Nortwick on page 28 sheds light on the importance of the katabasis trope: “To look death in the face and return to the living is the ultimate proof of a hero’s extraordinary stature. On another level, the journey often represents a going into the dark places of oneself, to find certain truths hidden from us in our conscious life.” For Odysseus and Aeneas, they went to the underworld to find a way back home, while Gilgamesh does so to save himself. I had originally learned about this while reading the Aeneid in 11th grade Latin class, so it was cool to return to it from a dif...

  In one of our very first classes, we discussed Joseph Campbell’s conception of myth and how it relates to reality. This was somewhat of a paradigm shift for me, as I’m used to a more classical view of myth. I usually think of myths as ancient stories that serve as explanations for natural phenomena or how a civilization came to be. In class though, Dr. Redick explained that the cosmos is an ordered reality and we discover that order through myth. Myth, rather than explaining, helps us explore. Another idea I had to wrap my head around was that myth defines reality and truth comes after reality. Thus, truth stems from myth. How does this affect our traditional understanding of myth? Should this conception of myth be taught more?

 In my social psychology class this semester, we read and learned a lot about the societal obsession with appearing young. There are myths throughout time and across cultures telling stories about ways to escape death, drink from the fountain of youth, or travel back in time. This narrative remains today as individuals spend thousands of dollars on plastic surgery, skincare products, or experimental weight loss treatments. However, I think there is a beauty in aging. The journey of life will leave a mark on each of us whether its wrinkles, scars, or any other physical transformation. I believe these these exterior changes should be celebrated as the interior changes often are. 

The Iliad is a Greek epic that follows Achilles throughout the Trojan War . Achilles becomes the hero of the epic by killing his enemy, Hector, brutally. This series of poems is rather violent and follows Greek tradition in writi ng style. It is simply titled with Iliad meaning the town in Troy. At the time it acted as a history story for the Greek people and was passed down through spoken word. We now attribute the writings to Homer and interpret them as something that one st rives to accomplish the greatness that Achilles reached. The journey took place during the war, making it connect well to today’s society of veterans who go on journeys throughout their time being deployed.  

Gilgamesh is a demigod in ancient Mesopotamian writings who was known for his superhuman strength on both land and sea. Gilgamesh sets out on quests across the world and is the classic story known as an epic. He followed orders of both his mind and other rulers of the area. His que sts proved his competence to others and to himself. He searches for the plant of eternal youth (ancients were obsessed with youth which makes no sense because everyone died young) and runs into some challenges that prevent his safe return. This story overall is a good way to show what a traditional journey looks like. It also provides proof that humans had been taking journeys and were writing about journeys long before religious pilgrimages started happening.  

From what we have read and talked about in class, one cannot ignore a calling . If they ignore a calling , then their life gets worse until they answer the calling . They can t ry to put it off, but it will keep coming back and reminding them that it is still incomplete. This reminds me of the cycle of grief. One cannot ignore their grief but rather needs to tackle it head on in order to grieve properly. If they do not, they experience feelings of anger, resentment, sadness, and other negative emotions. The movie we watched that had the man finding his parents gravesite in Northern Europe started by showing how he had put off this calling for years and it just made him bitter.  

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is such an interesting example of relative truth. What is one person's truth is not necessarily another's. It also di splays the saying “curiosity killed the cat” except this was a bit more extreme. Sharing ideas and new information can be dangerous when given to the wrong person. T he three men refused to t urn around and look outside the cave, showed closed mindedness . Plato had interesting thoughts on the world, some which still resonate today like this example . But I do think he was partially a product of his time and some of his ideologies are outdated. Why is Plato considered to be one of the great philosophers?  

All Apple phones have a built-in app that contains the stock market information that gets updated throughout the day. Since everyone has this app on their phone it seems as if this is an inclusive thing meant for everyone. It has graphs, tables, ticker symbols, and arrows. But most people do not know what they are reading when it comes to stocks. It can be as detailed as possible but if people are not educated on the topic, it will not make any sense to the everyday reader. Maybe this is why less than half of women have any type of investments. Women are actively discouraged from doing a multi tude of things in life, but investing would allow women financial stability in the future. This would lead t o more self-development, more citizen participation, and less reliance on traditional gender roles. I believe it is good to take an intersectional approach to all topics and finances affect everyone yet are never talked about. Being able to have the financial backing determines how ea...