It's All Greek To Me
The cliché is that is about the journey, not the destination but after traveling across the country I realized how untrue that is. We had just spent two hours hiking up to the Acropolis I was exhausted, tired, thirsty and complaining like crazy. This was my first hike ever. We didn’t even begin the hike until the end of the day, after we had walked all of Athens. We were on our seventh hour of walking in 90 degree heat. I had already drunk 1.5 liters of water and my bottle was empty, there are also no water fountains...anywhere. There was only one way up to the top, about I complained a lot, like any stereotypical American would but once I go to the top, I was speechless. How could I have complained so much when this was the destination?
That is when I learned that in Greece it is very much about the destination and not the journey.Seeing the acropolis and the view wasn’t about the hike there. It was about embracing the beauty when I got there. Hearing the history behind it from my professor and being able to imagine the hard work put into it when building it. I realized that we often take for granted our destinations. We complain too much on the way there or we hope we can hurry and get there and then do not appreciate when we arrive. There are many times I would complain about the long bus rides from city to city while in Greece but there was never a time I would walk in a museum or archeological site and not be absolutely speechless.
After each any every journey when I’d get to somewhere I would be at a loss for words. I remember looking back each time and seeing my professor who is in his 50’s (at least) and him being dressed in a button up, dress pants and dress shoes and not even making a negative face when beginning a hike or long bus ride. That just made me realize as an American, I complain and complain but show no gratitude when I get there. Even the plane ride to Greece, is an example of this. I dreaded being on a plane for longer than 10 hours, and even cried multiple times, but none of that matters. Me being on a plane should not have had more significance than being in Greece, and leaving I let it. I let the thought of getting back on a plane ruin the fact that I just spent a month in a beautiful country.
With this new idea about the destination rather than journey, I want to go forward in life and appreciate things more. As a senior I complain constantly about being in school, so when I graduate I want to revel in the significance of that moment.
Mia Spires is a senior English Major at Lander University. She will be graduating with a Bachelors Degree in May of 2019. She did her breakaway in Greece for a month over the summer of 2018.
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| Mia at the top of the Acropolis |
That is when I learned that in Greece it is very much about the destination and not the journey.Seeing the acropolis and the view wasn’t about the hike there. It was about embracing the beauty when I got there. Hearing the history behind it from my professor and being able to imagine the hard work put into it when building it. I realized that we often take for granted our destinations. We complain too much on the way there or we hope we can hurry and get there and then do not appreciate when we arrive. There are many times I would complain about the long bus rides from city to city while in Greece but there was never a time I would walk in a museum or archeological site and not be absolutely speechless.
After each any every journey when I’d get to somewhere I would be at a loss for words. I remember looking back each time and seeing my professor who is in his 50’s (at least) and him being dressed in a button up, dress pants and dress shoes and not even making a negative face when beginning a hike or long bus ride. That just made me realize as an American, I complain and complain but show no gratitude when I get there. Even the plane ride to Greece, is an example of this. I dreaded being on a plane for longer than 10 hours, and even cried multiple times, but none of that matters. Me being on a plane should not have had more significance than being in Greece, and leaving I let it. I let the thought of getting back on a plane ruin the fact that I just spent a month in a beautiful country.
With this new idea about the destination rather than journey, I want to go forward in life and appreciate things more. As a senior I complain constantly about being in school, so when I graduate I want to revel in the significance of that moment.
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| Mia and Nicole in Atavyros |
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| Mia and Julianna in Meteora |
Mia Spires is a senior English Major at Lander University. She will be graduating with a Bachelors Degree in May of 2019. She did her breakaway in Greece for a month over the summer of 2018.