Directions: Your essay should have the sections described below. If you don't divide the paper into sections, it should be clear to the reader which part of the assignment you are addressing. Your paper should be 3- 4 pages, double spaced. You should cite references if you use them. Simple parenthetical citations (author, title, page) is fine or footnotes, or a references page at the end. For brainstorming, you might click around the various pages in the Mythology section (or any section) of the site and find something that gets the ideas rolling.

1. Focus on a well defined segment of your life where you were called to adventure; i.e., you embarked on a hero's journey.
   
2. Using the Hero's Journey, describe the key events, characters, motives and meanings of that segment of your life. Focus on key transformations and challenges to structure the telling of your story.
   
3. Finish your paper by reflecting on these questions: What lessons can you take from the journey; what is the 'moral of the story'? How can the lessons of the journey assist you in living what remains of your life? What specific activities or goals should you pursue in order to heed the lessons of your prior journey in your current life?
   

NOTES:

For #1: "the segment of life' could be a familiar stage of life that we transtion out of like adolesence, or taking on a new role like 'mother' or 'father', or an ongoing project like attaining ultimate union with God! Either way, it should be a time when something had to change and you had to be the agent of this change. You might be what needs to change, or the world might be what needs to change, or , more likely, both need to. Change and transformation: Who? What? Where? When? Why?

For #2: Your story should have three chapters in essence; Departure, Initiation, Return. As before, highlight the sub-categories that fit your story well and/or illuminate some part of your story. Don't worry if some of the sub-stages don't fit perfectly. This is real life, nothing is perfect. More important is to connect the points that DO apply to create a meaningful story. Consider whether your journey was complete or incomplete, a success or failure, tricksterism or a genuine journey. If the journey stopped before coming to fruition, you can explain why those stages were not completed.

For #3: A lesson learned on a hero's journey is not necessarily the lesson of that journey. Typically, the lesson will be related to the purpose, motive or other cause of the journey itself. Campbell discusses cases where this does not hold, but it's a useful guideline, not a hard and fast rule. The larger meaning of the lesson for your life could be explained by relating it to another hero's journey , though that might get complicated. You can also relate the lesson to the goals that you have for your life as a whole and how you might best attain them as of NOW!