There’s a poem I always turn to before taking a trip somewhere: "Ithaka" by Constantine P. Cavafy. The poem presents a rethinking of "The Odyssey" by creating the nostalgia Odysseus feels for his home but urging the reader to feel this nostalgia for the journey itself.
“Keep Ithaka always in your mind/Arriving there is what you are destined for/But do not hurry the journey at all/Better if it lasts for years…”
As I reflect on my study abroad experience, this is definitely the lesson I will take home: Wherever you go, whatever you do, cherish the journey over the destination.
The months melt to weeks, which melt to minutes; every cool experience Princeton can offer will feel like it passed far too quickly. We are incredibly fortunate to have an ever-ready feast of domestic and international travel opportunities at our fingertips: study abroad, the International Internship Program, Breakout trips, classes with a fall or spring break trip, thesis funding, residential college trips to see Broadway shows, intensive language classes and more. There is no way to taste every piece of Princeton fruit, but there is a way to spend more time admiring the existence of the tree.
For those of you weighing whether to study abroad, I encourage you to strongly consider it. Experiencing another university’s academic system and social setting not only complements the Princeton experience but also enhances it. There is much about the University I didn’t appreciate until leaving, and I have even more enthusiasm about coming back. We only have one chance at an undergraduate experience, so why not essentially double it by sampling life at a different university?
Some argue that Princeton is such a unique, precious opportunity that going away for a semester or a year is wasteful. In missing a semester, however, I have refueled the freshman fire of curiosity and excitement that is too easily doused by junior year.But this column isn’t only about studying abroad. This is about reminding ourselves to prize the journey over the destination —whether it's through a study abroad program or an average Thursday on Nassau Street. This sentiment extends beyond sparkly travel opportunities; it is equally relevant to our days on campus. We can begin treating our New Jersey days as journeys, as if Princeton is a sort of globe.
It is easy to go through the week and see the weekend as the destination, go through a reading with dinner after as the destination, go through a problem set with sleep as the destination, go through a class with the distribution requirement as the destination or go through a day wishing it would end.We all have those days and those classes and those problem sets. We don’t have to enjoy every minute of every lecture. I don’t. We do, however, have the opportunity to make the best of it.
I have learned to treasure my days abroad — not only because of fresh classes or the refreshing campus culture but simply because it’s a happier, healthier outlook.
I read "Ithaka," as always, before boarding the plane to London, and I’m going to read it as I return to Princeton. It’s easy to mistake Princeton-as-destination as the dream fulfilled when education-as-destination gives us the mindset that our Princeton experience is a journey in itself.Azza Cohen is a history major fromHighland Park, Ill. She can be reached at accohen@princeton.edu.
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