It's_the_Journey_That_Matters

“It is the journey, not the destination that matters” Robert Frost was and still is considered a very wise man. He was a world class poet and was considered one of the greatest minds of his time. Throughout his works he chose a variety of themes to display. The main theme that was showcased was “life goes on.” This means that when a person reaches their goal, their life’s dream, there would always be more meaning to the rest of their days. This is incredibly important in both fictional and real life situations as how would somebody continue to live and prosper if they have already reached their goal' In order for an audience to feel any form of sympathy or empathy or indeed any emotion they must be able to relate to the characters situation. This is also depicted in an excerpt from The Turning and also from the film Eurotrip. In all three texts there is a “realization” moment, which is where the character has reached their goal or is reflecting upon past moments they have lived. Reflection is necessary as it influences the journey’s destination. As the characters physical or emotional health changes, so may their sense of adventure and thus their goal/destination may change. The journey is the thing that actually changes the person and their state of mind so that they can be the person that they need to be, physically, emotionally, or intellectually in order to reach their goal. It is in this way that the statement “It is the journey, not the destination that matters” is proved. A journey is a thing of truth. It allows a person to optimize their way of life. During the course of Eurotrip certain hiccoughs take place. These include the main characters getting drunk and passing out on a bus that takes them in the opposite direction to where they want to go. Through this experience the characters stick together and make plans to reverse this situation and get to their desired destination while hitting yet more hiccoughs along the way. In this scenario the characters change as people and also develop stronger friendships together. The audience while watching this film engages in decisions that are made by the characters, they laugh when the characters laugh etc. The audience transforms due to the decisions and situations that the characters have been placed in. “It is the journey, not the destination that matters” to the characters depicted in the journey but also with just as much meaning, the audience. Frost in his brilliance of mind wrote something that feature in almost every good journey text. This is the moment when the characters take a moment to look back and reflect on past situations that they have lived, and the realization that death (mostly metaphorical) is inevitable. This is shown in Eurotrip and Big World when the main characters relax while heading for a new start, realize that their companions will change and most likely fall in love, realize that the time they are sharing together will never be spent the same way again, and move on. The relaxing and realization symbolizes the relaxing and realization of Frosts texts. This could also be interpreted as meaning that there are two options, the first being continuing life’s journey with change, and the second being without change. From the provided Frost texts, “The Road Not Taken” has the most in common with two main decisions. The Road Not Taken tells us of a man or woman who comes to a fork in a road with two roads leading onwards from it. One looks dark and daunting and the other looks as if it is inviting the character into it. The character chooses the one less travelled but wishes that he or she could have experienced both. The character would have liked to have taken a stroll down both paths but only one could be chosen. This is a metaphor for the cliché you cannot re-live your life. This leads me to my next point, regret. The Google dictionary defines regret as a feeling of sadness or disappointment, which is caused by something that has happened or something that you have done or not done. Regret is shown in all studied journey texts and is a key to the formation of a characters state of mind. Characters need to undergo transformation so that they can reach the end destination. Regret is a feature that is represented in these particular journeys. This is powerful as it draws the attention of the audience to the feelings and emotions that the characters are affected by. Every human has experienced regret in their lives and can relate to the characters current problem and they will thus form a bond with the characters. Regret influences the characters and audiences future choices in life. If they did not suffer regret then they would not know the difference between making a good or a bad choice in life. Without regret, we would not survive. In conclusion, all texts mentioned are journeys that all feature characters changing their emotional status by experiencing change and regret. It is in this that the significance of the journey is really shown. Without the journey, there would be no story. Without the story, there would be no audience. Without the audience, we would have to face life and its obstacles on our own with absolutely no guidance. This gives meaning to and proves that the statement “It is the journey, not the destination that matters” is true.