a journey

77 Beautiful Journey Quotes & Captions To Inspire An Inner Awakening

Searching for some words to accompany your own journey? I’ve compiled the best list out there of the most beautiful journey quotes to inspire and uplift you…

Maybe the most famous quote about journeys that millions across the globe know is from Lao Tzu.  The ancient Chinese philosopher once said, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” And since then, adventurers, journeyers and wanderers have passed on their own journey inspiration. 

Whether your journey is a metaphorical or literal one, you will love my list of the best journey quotes that are guaranteed to lift you up and propel you forward. 

These are the 77 best journey quotes.

The Best Journey Quotes 

You may recognize a number of these quotes about journeys, as they come from the minds of some of the greatest individuals throughout history. These writers, leaders, musicians and adventurers understand the power of a life changing journey. 

1) “If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t walk run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but by all means keep moving.” – Martin Luther King Jr. 

2) “the road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.” –  don williams, jr., 3) “the best part of life is to decide to make the journey through life like a best selling book. tell a fantastic story when you are ready to tell others how you did it. make sure life the best story ever written through a journey filled with overcoming obstacles, taking risks, and continuing to develop.” – catherine pulsifer, 4) “we are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. life is eternal. we have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. this is a precious moment. it is a little parenthesis in eternity.” – paulo coelho.

5) “If ever there was a metaphor to illustrate the importance of the journey over the destination, it is life itself. For everyone who departs from birth is destined for death, so the journey IS life. Savor it!” – Michele Jennae

6) “life is a journey, and if you fall in love with the journey, you will be in love forever.” – peter hagerty, 7) “the secret of getting ahead is getting started. the secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” – mark twain, 8) “it is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” – ernest hemingway.

9) “To finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

10) “our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. but no matter, the road is life.”  ― jack kerouac, 11) “in order to complete our amazing life journey successfully, it is vital that we turn each and every dark tear into a pearl of wisdom, and find the blessing in every curse.” – anthon st. maarten, 12) “this thing we call life is not a destination with an end but a path down which we continue to journey as long as we can breath. life is to be lived not squandered or to give away waiting for the end to close upon us.” – byron pulsifer.

13) “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

14) “life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “wow what a ride”” – hunter s. thompson, 15) “sooner or later we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. the true joy of life is the trip.” — robert j. hastings.

Short Journey Quotes 

Quotes don’t have to be lengthy to capture the spirit of what they are trying to convey. These short journey quotes say so much with so little words. 

16) “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

17) “learn to trust the journey, even when you do not understand it.” – lolly daskal, 18) “a journey is time suspended.” –  louis l’amour, 19) “take voyages. attempt them. there’s nothing else.” ― tennessee williams.

20) “I’m an idealist. I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m on my way.”  — Carl Sandburg

21) “stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey.” – fitzhugh mullan, 22) “life’s a journey, not a race.” – unknown, 23) “life is a journey. when we stop, things don’t go right.” – pope francis.

24) “It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin

25) “you must remain focused on your journey to greatness.” – les brown, 26) “i tramp a perpetual journey.” ― walt whitman, 27) “the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – marcel proust.

28) “It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln 

29) “life is about waking up. it is a journey of discovery and you’ve already bought the ticket and are sitting on the train.” – michael sheridan,, 30) “the only impossible journey is the one you never begin.” – tony robbins, 31) “without music, life is a journey through a desert.” – pat conroy.

32) “What you learn in tough times can be used in many ways to bless your personal life journey.” – Scott Gordon

33) “accomplishments will prove to be a journey, not a destination.” – dwight d. eisenhower.

Inspiring Journey Quotes  

Searching for the courage to take the first steps on your own journey? These inspiring journey quotes will light a fire under you, guaranteed to give you the courage you seek.

34) “I discovered that a fresh start is a process. A fresh start is a journey – a journey that requires a plan.” – Vivian Jokotade

35) “if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” – unknown, 36) “you don’t have to understand my journey. you just need to respect it.” – izey victoria odiase, 37) “when setting out on a journey do not seek advice from someone who never left home.” – rumi, 38) “to get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping.” – chinese proverb, 39) “you have learned a lot, but there are still lots of learning for you as you journey through life. never stop learning.” – kate summers, 40) “when you’re on a journey and you come to a wall, always throw your pack over first, because then you will be sure to follow.” – yongey mingyur rinpoche, 41) “ big things have small beginnings.” – prometheus.

42) “Life is a journey that have a lot different paths, but any path you choose use it as your destiny.” ― Ryan Leonard

43) “this is your journey, your body, your mind, and your spirit. dig deep, own it, and start doing things for you and by you.” – unknown author, 44) “as you journey down the path, don’t forget to be present moment-by-moment and absorb the beauty and richness of simply being alive.” – cary david richards, 45) “life is a journey of either fate or destiny. fate is the result of giving in to one’s wounds and heartaches. your destiny unfolds when you rise above the challenges of your life and use them as divine opportunities to move forward to unlock your higher potential.” – caroline myss.

46) “Temporary setbacks create opportunities for fresh commitment and renewal. There are seasons of sunshine as well as rain.” – T. D. Jakes,

47) “i believe that life is a journey, often difficult and sometimes incredibly cruel, but we are well equipped for it if only we tap into our talents and gifts and allow them to blossom.” – les brown, 48) “to find your confidence, get out of your comfort zone, overcome your fears, and begin the journey to discover and accomplish what you want to do with your life.” – doretha dingler.

Journey Instagram Quotes & Captions  

Need a fantastic quote about journeys to accompany your own inspiring Instagram upload? These Instagram journey captions and quotes say so much in just the right amount of characters. 

49) “Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter.” – Izaak Walton

50) “always say yes to new adventures.”, 51) “it is better to travel well than to arrive.” –  arthur c. custance, 52) “always take the scenic route.”.

53) “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”

54) “don’t listen to what they say, go and see it for yourself.”, 55) “what’s on my bucket list everywhere.”, 56) “on a hard jungle journey, nothing is so important as having a team you can trust.” – tahir shah.

57) “Travel not to find yourself, but to remember where you have been all long.”

58) “don’t spend your money on things. spend it on experiences”, 59) “leap and the net will appear.” – zen proverb, 60) “all journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” ― martin buber, 61) “life is journey, travel it well.” – unknown.

Funny Journey Quotes 

These funny quotes about journeys are short, punchy and shine a humorous light on some of the many obstacles a journey may come up against. 

62) “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” – Confucius

63) “me: “i want to travel more”, the bank account: “”like, to the park”, 64) “i have panicked unnecessarily in all four corners of the globe.” – jon ronson, 65) “good things come to those, who book flights.”.

66) “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” –  John Steinbeck

67) “i crossed a time zone and i feel younger already. if i keep traveling west, i can become immortal” – jarod kintz, 68) “sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.” – jerry seinfeld.

Celebrity Journey Quotes 

Actors, entrepreneurs, musicians and more are the minds behind these poignant celebrity journey quotes that are sure to inspire and make you smile. 

69) “The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance, and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.” – Oprah Winfrey

70) “sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.” – drake, 71) “you can handle just about anything that comes at you out on the road with a believable grin, common sense and whiskey.”– bill murray, 72) “you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. you have to trust in something; your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. this approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” – steve jobs.

73) “The main thing that you have to remember on this journey is, just be Nice to everyone and always smile.” – Ed Sheeran

74) “you take people, you put them on a journey, you give them peril, you find out who they really are.” – joss whedon, 75) “if all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all.” – dan rather, 76. “every day is a new journey for me, and i feel like, in my lifetime, i’ve been blessed to experience such a lot.” – bindi irwin, 77) “not everyone will understand your journey. that’s okay. you’re here to live your life, not to make everyone understand.” – banksy.

Did I miss any great journey quotes?

Is there a journey quote I missed off my list that is one of your personal faves and that you want to share? Reach out to me with the quote, and I’ll see if I can add it to the my list of the best quotes about journeys!

Looking for inspiration for your next travel journey?

The quotes that made my list could really sum up so many journeys travelers take every day across the world. I’m a travel blogger who has traveled across the globe, and as a result my site has a huge variety of inspiring travel content. Accommodation guides, music festival guides, itineraries, city guides and so much more await you. Get started with some of my most popular travel content. 

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77 Positive and Inspiring Journey Quotes

Embark on a journey of a lifetime with these inspiring journey quotes. Life’s a thrilling ride, filled with ups and downs.

It’s about braving the storms and cherishing time spent with loved ones.

So whether your path is spiritual, an exciting travel adventure, or just starting something new in life, let these quotes fuel your spirit for exploration and discovery.

Journey quotes to begin your path towards greatness

1. “Never give up on your dreams, no matter how painful and difficult your journey is.” – Lisa

2. “The journey is never ending. There’s always gonna be growth, improvement, adversity; you just gotta take it all in and do what’s right, continue to grow, continue to live in the moment.” – Antonio Brown

3. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” – Lao Tzu

4. “Sometimes its more about the journey than the destination.” – Jamal Crawford

5. “Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” – Arthur Ashe

6. “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” – Greg Anderson

New journey quotes to inspire your success

7. “Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

8. “Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.” – Drake

9. “Sometimes we make the process more complicated than we need to. We will never make a journey of a thousand miles by fretting about how long it will take or how hard it will be. We make the journey by taking each day step by step and then repeating it again and again until we reach our destination.” – Joseph B. Wirthlin

10. “Enjoy the journey and try to get better every day. And don’t lose the passion and the love for what you do.” – Nadia Comaneci

11. “Struggle teaches you a lot of things, and I am happy that I witnessed a roller coaster ride. The journey has improved me as a person and made me more matrure.” – Manoj Bajpayee

12. “Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind.” – Henri Frederic Amiel

Life is a journey quotes

13. “Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.” – Oliver Goldsmith

14. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost

15. “Learn to trust the journey, even when you do not understand it.” – Lolly Daskal

16. “Life is a journey that have a lot of different paths, but any path you choose, use it as your destiny.” – Unknown

17. “The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday.” – Steve Maraboli

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18. “Life is a journey, not a destination.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

19. “Everyday you got a chance to make your journey more beautiful than yesterday.” – Nitin Namdeo

20. “Every day is a journey and the journey itself is home.” – Matsuo Basho

21. “Everybody has their own story; everything has their own journey.” – Thalia

Enjoy the journey quotes

22. “Enjoy the journey as much as the destination.” – Marshall Sylver

23. “Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame.” – Benedict Cumberbatch

24. “Enjoy the journey and try to get better everyday. And don’t lose the passion and the love for what you do.” – Nadia Comaneci

25. “Enjoy the journey, the destination will come.” – Verghese

26. “Don’t wait for everything to be perfect before you decide to enjoy your life.” – Joyce Meyer

27. “Dream big, stay positive, work hard, and enjoy the journey.” – Urijah Faber

28. “The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance, and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.” – Oprah Winfrey

29. “Aim for the sky, but move slowly, enjoying every step along the way. It is all those little steps that make the journey complete.” – Chanda Kochar

30. “Enjoy the journey, enjoy every moment, and quit worrying about winning and losing.” – Matt Biondi

31. “Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey.” – Babs Hoffman

32. “I haven’t been everywhere but its on my list.” – Susan Sontag

33. “You must remain focused on your journey to greatness.” – Les Brown

Inspirational journey quotes

34. “You can never regret anything you do in life. You kind of have to learn the lesson from whatever the experience is and take it with you on your journey forward.” – Aubrey O’Day

35. “Life is a journey. When we stop, things don’t go right.” – Pope Francis

36. “There’s no map for you to follow and take your journey. You are Lewis and Clark. You are the mapmaker.” – Phillipa Soo

37. “I’m different than most people. When I cross the finish line of a big race, I see that people are ecstatic, but I’m thinking about what I’m going to do tomorrow. It’s as if my journey is everlasting, and there is no finish line.” – David Goggins

38. “We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” – Marcel Proust

39. “Though the road’s been rocky it sure feels good to me.” – Bob Marley

40. “We are at our very best, and we are happiest, when we are fully engaged in work we enjoy on the journey toward the goal we’ve established for ourselves. It gives meaning to our time off and comfort to our sleep. It makes everything else in life so wonderful, so worthwhile.” – Earl Nightingale

41. “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.” – Steve Jobs

42. “If my ship sails from sight, it doesn’t mean my journey ends, it simply means the river bends.” – Enoch Powell

Motivational journey quotes 

43. “Make voyages. Attempt them. There’s nothing else.” – Tennessee Williams

44. “Gotta take that adventure in order to understand your journey.” – Jennifer Pierre

45. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

46. “The beauty of my journey is that it’s always been pretty unpredictable, so stay tuned.” – Andreja Pejic

47. “The journey not the arrival matters.” – T.S. Eliot

48. “The future depends on what you do today.” – Mahatma Gandhi

49. “The goal is to die with memories, not dreams.” – Unknown

50. “Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.” – Theodore Roosevelt

51. “The harder you work from something, the greater you’ll feel when you achieve it.” – Sudhashree Acharya

52. “Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” – Pat Conroy

53. “The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.” – ILHQ

54. “When setting out on a journey do not seek advice from someone who never left home.” – Rumi

Positive journey quotes

55. “You may only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” – Mae West

56. “Every day you got a chance to make your journey more beautiful than yesterday.” – Nitin Namdeo

57. “Stay positive. Better days are on their way.” – Unknown

58. “Your destiny is to fulfill those things upon which you focus most intently. So choose to keep your focus on that which is truly magnificent, beautiful, uplifting and joyful. Your life is always moving toward something.” – Ralph Marston

59. “You make a life out of what you have, not what you’re missing.” – Kate Morton

60. “Every sunset is an opportunity to reset. Every sunrise begins with new eyes.” – Richie Norton

61. “Life is very interesting. In the end, some of your greatest pains, become your greatest strengths.” – Drew Barrymore

62. “Your journey has molded you for your greater good, and it was exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think you’ve lost time. There is no short-cutting life. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And now is right on time.” – Asha Tyson

63. “And suddenty you know…It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” – Meister Eckhart

64. “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” – Dolly Parton

65. “Your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.” – Michelle Obama

66. “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde

67. “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” – Wayne Dyer

Journey of life quotes

68. “The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.” – Tony Robbins

69. “When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.” – Carol Burnett

70. “Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” – Charles R. Swindoll

71. “You take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing, no one to blame.” – Erica Jong

72. “If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all.” – Dan Rather

73. “It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf

74. “Your Monday morning thoughts set the tone for your whole week. See yourself getting stronger, and living a fulfilling, happier & healthier life.” – Germany Kent

75. “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” – Lou Holtz

76. “Our lives are the journey we take to find our true selves!” – Alyssa Gonzalez

77. “Your braver than you believe, stronger that you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne

Which of these journey quotes were your favorites?

We all have the potential within us to be great.

But greatness isn’t about luck. It’s a choice.

We must choose to succeed and take steps towards it.

Remember, the path to success is a journey, not a quick leap.

Let these quotes inspire you to stay focused on your goals and dreams, no matter what obstacles get in your way along the path.

Helping people and eating tacos are my jam! This blog exists to help provide tips and resources that can help you achieve your goals and live a better life. Whether you’re looking for tips on personal growth, fitness, advice on starting a side hustle, or resources for working remotely, I’ve got you covered.

51 Meaningful Quotes About How Life is a Journey

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They say that life is about the journey and not the destination. But what does that really mean?

You’ve probably heard this line a million times before, but maybe you couldn’t quite understand what it was trying to illustrate. 

The most successful people will tell you that the process of accomplishing something is far more valuable than the end result. You learn much more from all of your experiences and encounters than you do from arriving at the destination.

Ultimately, the process is the greatest reward. The sweetest moments come when you realize that you have attained the final goal because of everything you have experienced.

You look back on the mistakes, the challenges, and everything you had to endure—but you also celebrate the fact that you faced your problems head-on. Your journey through life is what makes you human.

In this article, we share with you a list of quotes about how life is a journey . We hope that, through these words, you’ll be able to enjoy everything that life has to offer. Even more so, we hope that they will inspire you to live a more meaningful and happier life .

But before we check out our list, let’s discuss how reading these quotes can get you motivated.

Table of Contents

Why Read Quotes About How Life Is a Journey?

Reading these quotes can inspire you to live a better and more fulfilling life.

They are, after all, from people who have found their journeys through life enjoyable and gratifying. There’s no better way to motivate yourself than to get inspiration from people who have already lived wonderful lives.

In the same vein, these quotes can help you appreciate the gift of life. They help you realize that you only live once, so you must relish the moments you have been given.

Finally, reading these quotes can encourage you to share your life with others. You will realize that, in order to be able to live your life to the fullest, you need someone to share both your joys and sorrows with. You require companions to fully live in the moment .

Now that you know why it’s important to read journey quotes, let us check out our list!

Meaningful Life is a Journey Quotes

• “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But by all means, keep moving.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
• “Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
• “The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.” – Tony Robbins
• “The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance, and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.” – Oprah Winfrey
• “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
• “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” – Heraclitus
• “Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it by yourself. It is not far. It is within reach. Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know. Perhaps it is everywhere – on water and land.” – Walt Whitman
• “The most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what's in between, and they took great pleasure in doing just that.” – Norton Juster
• “The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday.” – Steve Maraboli

• “Some beautiful paths can't be discovered without getting lost.” – Erol Ozan
• “For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.” – Michelle Obama
• “I am no longer afraid of becoming lost because the journey back always reveals something new, and that is ultimately good for the artist.” – Billy Joel
• “Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” – Pat Conroy
• “Never stop just because you feel defeated. The journey to the other side is attainable only after great suffering.” – Santosh Kalwar
• “There is a strange comfort in knowing that no matter what happens today, the Sun will rise again tomorrow.” – Aaron Lauritsen
• “Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.” – Drake
• “ Transformation is a process , and as life happens there are tons of ups and downs. It’s a journey of discovery – there are moments on mountaintops and moments in deep valleys of despair.” – Rick Warren
• “The journey is never-ending. There’s always gonna be growth, improvement, and adversity; you just gotta take it all in and do what’s right, continue to grow, continue to live in the moment.” – Antonio Brown
• “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” – Greg Anderson
• “On your journey, don’t forget to smell the flowers. Take time out to notice that you are alive. You can only live one day.” – Ray Fearon

• “If my ship sails from sight, it doesn’t mean my journey ends. It simply means the river bends.” – Enoch Powell
• “It’s not an easy journey, to get to a place where you forgive people. But it is such a powerful place because it frees you.” – Tyler Perry
• “Aim for the sky, but move slowly, enjoying every step along the way. It is all those little steps that make the journey complete.” – Chanda Kochhar
• “Sometimes we make the process more complicated than we need to. We will never make a journey of a thousand miles by fretting about how long it will take or how hard it will be. We make the journey by taking each day step by step and then repeating it again and again until we reach our destination.” – Joseph B. Wirthlin
• “Your journey never ends. Life has a way of changing things in incredible ways.” – Alexander Volkov
• “Each one of us has our own evolution of life, and each one of us goes through different tests which are unique and challenging. But certain things are common. And we do learn things from each other's experiences. On a spiritual journey, we all have the same destination.” – A. R. Rahman
• “Going by my past journey, I am not certain where life will take me, what turns and twists will happen; nobody knows where they will end up. As life changes direction, I'll flow with it.” – Katrina Kaif
• “Enjoy the journey and try to get better every day. And don't lose the passion and the love for what you do.” – Nadia Comaneci

• “But it's a journey and the sad thing is you only learn from experience, so as much as someone can tell you things, you have to go out there and make your own mistakes in order to learn.” – Emma Watson
• “The seeker embarks on a journey to find what he wants and discovers, along the way, what he needs.” – Wally Lamb
• “Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.” – Oliver Goldsmith
• “The Sun will rise and set regardless. What we choose to do with the light while it's here is up to us. Journey wisely.” – Alexandra Elle
• “We may run, walk, stumble. drive, or fly, but let us never lose sight of the reason for the journey, or miss a chance to see a rainbow on the way.” – Gloria Gaither
• “Whole life is a search for beauty. But, when the beauty is found inside, the search ends and a beautiful journey begins.” – Harshit Walia
• “Not everyone will understand your journey. That's okay. You're here to live your life, not to make everyone understand .” – Banksy
• “I believe that life is a journey, often difficult and sometimes incredibly cruel, but we are well equipped for it if only we tap into our talents and gifts and allow them to blossom.” – Les Brown
• “It was being a runner that mattered, not how fast or how far I could run. The joy was in the act of running and in the journey, not in the destination.” – John Bingham
• “As you journey down the path, don't forget to be present moment-by-moment and absorb the beauty and richness of simply being alive.” – Cary David Richards
• “If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all.” – Dan Rather

• “Life is a journey of either Fate or Destiny. Fate is the result of giving in to one's wounds and heartaches. Your Destiny unfolds when you rise above the challenges of your life and use them as Divine opportunities to move forward to unlock your higher potential.” – Caroline Myss
• “I know it can be tough to imagine how to get from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow. But I’m here to tell you that change is possible if you enter into this journey with your eyes wide open, and with real intention.” – David Hauser
• “Part of the challenge that comes with striving for success is how the entire journey comes with its own fair share of failures and disappointments.” – Rupert Johnson
• “The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking at this moment. That's all there ever is.” – Alan Watts
• “Life is a journey and it's about growing and changing and coming to terms with who and what you are and loving who and what you are.” – Kelly McGillis
• “Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived.” – Captain Jean-Luc Picard
• “I just constantly tell myself that I should be the only one to define my worth and what I'm capable of and how I perceive myself. And that I should never source that worth from other people, especially strangers on social media. They don't know who I am, the length of my journey, who I am as a person.” – Catriona Gray
• “ You have learned a lot, but there are still lots of learning for you as you journey through life. Never stop learning.” – Kate Summers

• “One of the most important things that I have learned in my 57 years is that life is all about choices. On every journey you take, you face choices. At every fork in the road, you make a choice. And it is those decisions that shape our lives.” – Mike DeWine
• “I'm different than most people. When I cross the finish line of a big race, I see that people are ecstatic, but I'm thinking about what I'm going to do tomorrow. It's as if my journey is everlasting, and there is no finish line.” – David Goggins
• “The journey matters as much as the destination. By engaging at the moment on set, I've stopped rushing and now find pleasure in the collaborative process – the characters, the costumes – rather than worrying about the finished product.” – Michelle Dockery
• “It's a life's journey of finding ourselves, finding our power, and living for yourself, not for everyone else.” – Mariska Hargitay

Final Thoughts on Life & Journey

Life is a journey, and we all take different paths.

There are those who take the road less traveled and enjoy unique accomplishments, while others go with the crowd but still end up loving the lives they’ve chosen as well. Regardless of our choices, we will all have the potential to become successful in the ways we personally define success.

We hope that these quotes inspired you to enjoy your life’s journey and make it more meaningful. Enjoy the moment and live happy!

And if you want more inspirational quotes, be sure to check out these blog posts:

• 63 Inspiring Walt Whitman Quotes About Life
• 51 Do What Makes You Happy Quotes for 2023
• 107 Quotes About Overcoming Adversity and Challenges in Your Life

Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then check out and recite these 57 affirmations for success .

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[ jur -nee ]

a six-day journey across the desert.

Synonyms: tour , jaunt , excursion

a desert journey.

a week's journey.

the journey to success.

verb (used without object)

Synonyms: peregrinate , rove , roam

/ ˈdʒɜːnɪ /

• a travelling from one place to another; trip or voyage
• the distance travelled in a journey
• the time taken to make a journey
• intr to make a journey

Discover More

Derived forms.

• ˈjourneyer , noun

Other Words From

• journey·er noun
• outjourney verb (used with object) outjourneyed outjourneying

Word History and Origins

Origin of journey 1

Synonym Study

Example sentences.

If either is selected, it would not launch until 2026 at the earliest, and would take at least a few months to make the journey.

The job is a cherry on top, but the journey and the experience of being able to audition and leave your heart in the room and feel good about it, no matter what happens, that’s rare and that was amazing.

Cross-device measurement helps connect the dots of your customer’s journey and ensures you know how effective your campaigns are at driving user behavior.

You are somewhat of a new grandmother and you’ve been enjoying that journey.

Instead of having numerous articles addressing each of these particular questions, brands and publishers could consolidate this information as it is all pertinent to the same stage of the journey that the user is in.

The brokers then scout out potential “crew members” who can earn substantial discounts for working the journey.

The next day, after driving to Putney on the outskirts of London, we start the end of our journey.

The NYPD Emerald Society pipes and drums struck up a slow march and the procession began the journey to the cemetery.

We began a journey with Koenig in the first episode of Serial.

But the sunlight is threatening to fade and a three-and-a-half-hour river journey back to Kisangani looms.

With a hammer the boy knocked off some of the slats of the small box in which Squinty had made his journey.

Then summoning a smart young jemadar with whom he had talked a good deal during the journey, he asked him to read the chit.

But dismissing them from our thoughts for the time being, as we did then from our presence, let us continue our journey.

If the journey is now distasteful to her, she has but her own rashness to blame in having sought it herself.

It was past sundown when they left San Bernardino, but a full moon made the night as good as day for their journey.

Related Words

• exploration

What Is The Plural Of Journey?

Plural word for  journey.

The plural form of journey is journeys (not journies ). Words that end with a – y preceded by a vowel ( a, e, i, o, u ) are made plural by adding an -s at the end, as in chimney / chimneys and monkey / monkeys . 

This can be confusing, because the plural form of words that end with a – y and are preceded by a consonant is made by changing the ending to -ies , as in party / parties , candy / candies , and duty / duties .

More About Journey

What does  journey mean.

A journey is a trip, especially one to a faraway place that takes place over a long period of time.

The word trip can refer to any instance of traveling from one place to another, no matter how long or short it is. The word journey , though, typically implies a long trip—one that’s at least several hours, and perhaps several months or even years. It also often implies adventure—a journey might even be a quest . A journey may or may not have a planned destination other than whatever lies ahead.

The word is also commonly used in a figurative way to liken any lengthy process or progress to such a trip, as in Life is a journey, with many interesting detours. 

Journey can also be used as a verb meaning to make a long trip, as in We must journey to the land beyond the mountains.

Example: My favorite books are about people who make epic journeys around the world.

Where does  journey come from?

The first records of the word journey come from around the 1200s. It comes from the Middle English word journee , meaning “day,” ultimately from unattested Vulgar Latin diurnāta , meaning “a day’s time” or “a day’s work.” In English, the meaning of the word journey originally meant something like “a day’s travel,” but eventually came to mean “a long trip.”

A journey can last a day but the word usually refers to longer trips. The word is sometimes preceded with the mode of transportation that’s used, as in The city is reachable only by a long train journey. Discussion of journeys often involves their destination or purpose. When people say, “It’s the journey , not the destination,” they mean that the significance and value of a journey is what happens along the way, from moment to moment, as opposed to the achievement of its ultimate goal.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to journey ?

• journeyer (noun)
• outjourney (verb)

What are some synonyms for journey ?

What are some words that share a root or word element with journey ? 

What are some words that often get used in discussing journey ?

• destination

How is  journey used in real life?

Journey is very commonly used in a figurative way.

I ask you to accompany me on my journey to Chile and Peru in your prayers. — Pope Francis (@Pontifex) January 15, 2018

Life is indeed a journey. Successful is he who can navigate the ups and downs without losing his balance. Don’t dwell on your past, don’t wallow in self-pity, don’t repeat your mistakes, don’t focus on negativity, help others along the way, spread kindness wherever you go! — Mufti Menk (@muftimenk) August 17, 2020

Some people around us will not understand our journey. They don’t need to; it’s not for them — Paulo Coelho (@paulocoelho) May 4, 2019

Try using  journey !

Which of the following words is a synonym of journey ?

A. voyage B. trip C. trek D. all of the above

[ ak -s uh -lot-l ]

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Definition of journey noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• They went on a long train journey across India.
• to begin/continue/complete a journey
• Many refugees made the journey alone.
• Did you have a good journey?
• the outward/return journey
• We broke our journey (= stopped for a short time) in Madrid.
• (British English) Don't use the car for short journeys.
• It's a day's journey by car.
• The average journey time is about 50 minutes.
• on a journey She took her sister with her to keep her company on the journey.
• journey from… Devizes is a two-hour journey from London.
• journey to… It is unclear why he embarked on his final journey to Vienna.
• (British English) I'm afraid you've had a wasted journey (= you cannot do what you have come to do) .
• (informal) Bye! Safe journey! (= used when somebody is beginning a journey)
• a business trip
• a five-minute trip by taxi
• a long and difficult journey across the mountains
• a tour of Bavaria
• the first expedition to the South Pole
• We went on an all-day excursion to the island.
• The children were on a day’s outing from school.
• We had a day out at the beach.
• a(n) foreign/​overseas trip/​journey/​tour/​expedition
• a bus/​coach/​train/​rail trip/​journey/​tour
• to go on a(n) trip/​journey/​tour/​expedition/​excursion/​outing/​day out
• to set out/​off on a(n) trip/​journey/​tour/​expedition/​excursion
• to make a(n) trip/​journey/​tour/​expedition/​excursion
• destination
• measures to cut the number of car journeys into the city
• He is planning a journey through Europe this summer.
• People were crammed onto ships for the dangerous journey across the Atlantic.
• Dawn was breaking as we set out on the last leg of our journey.
• Few people have made this journey and lived to tell the tale.
• He made the emotional journey back to the house he grew up in.
• He wrote a column chronicling his journeys around the Americas.
• Her search took her on an incredible journey across the world.
• The bus driver told us where to change buses for our onward journey.
• The bus journey from London to Athens took 60 hours.
• The journey continued in silence.
• The journey takes about five hours.
• They continued their journey on foot.
• They doubted that he would survive the journey to the nearest hospital.
• They were on a journey to the Far East.
• This is the story of the first astronauts and their journey into the unknown.
• take (somebody)
• be tired after a journey
• be tired from a journey
• a leg of a journey

Take your English to the next level

The Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus explains the difference between groups of similar words. Try it for free as part of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app

Other results

• Long Day's Journey into Night

Nearby words

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Meaning of journey in English

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journey noun [C] ( TRIP )

• She gave the children some sweets to chew on during the long car journey.
• The journey was quite quick because the road was clear .
• I expect you'd like to rest after your long journey.
• We did the journey to Wales in five hours .
• The train journey took us through a valley past rolling hills .
• break-journey
• circumnavigation

journey noun [C] ( EXPERIENCES )

• advance the cause
• advancement
• formatively
• from A to B idiom
• progressive
• progressively
• punctuated equilibrium

journey noun [C] ( BOOK )

• absorptive capacity
• acquisition
• hit the books idiom
• mug (something) up
• non-academic
• recognition
• subspecialty
• swot up (something)
• uncredentialed
• around Robin Hood's barn idiom
• communication
• super-commuting
• transoceanic
• well travelled

journey | American Dictionary

Examples of journey, collocations with journey.

These are words often used in combination with journey .

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

Translations of journey

Get a quick, free translation!

Word of the Day

the fact that people or animals do what they are told to do

Binding, nailing, and gluing: talking about fastening things together

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10 of the Best Poems about Journeys

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

According to Thomas de Quincey, Wordsworth clocked up an estimated 180,000 miles during his lifetime, walking around his beloved Lake District (to say nothing of the Quantocks, where he lived near Coleridge during the 1790s).

Given that there is a strong link between poets and travelling of various kinds – whether walking, sailing, or travelling in some more abstract, metaphorical or spiritual sense – we felt it was time we put together some of the greatest journey poems.

Andrew Marvell, ‘ Bermudas ’.

Where the remote Bermudas ride In th’ocean’s bosom unespied, From a small boat, that row’d along, The list’ning winds receiv’d this song. ‘What should we do but sing his praise That led us through the wat’ry maze Unto an isle so long unknown, And yet far kinder than our own?

This poem, from the seventeenth-century poet Andrew Marvell, is set in the Atlantic ocean and focuses on a group of people aboard a boat, and clearly in exile from their native land. They spy the island of Bermuda, and sing a song in praise of the island. The next 32 lines of the poem comprise their song.

The people aboard the boat praise God for leading them to this previously undiscovered island, which seems ‘far kinder’ than the island they have left behind, namely Britain.

These people have endured and eluded sea-monsters and storms, and God has led them to safety on the ‘grassy stage’ of this new island. It is mentioned that they are fleeing England because of ‘prelates’ rage’, namely religious persecution – so ‘Bermudas’ is a poem about undertaking a difficult journey to find a new place where a community of people can start afresh.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner .

The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone: He cannot choose but hear; And thus spake on that ancient man, The bright-eyed Mariner.

‘The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared, Merrily did we drop Below the kirk, below the hill, Below the lighthouse top.

‘The Sun came up upon the left, Out of the sea came he! And he shone bright, and on the right Went down into the sea …

Written in 1797-8, this is Coleridge’s most famous poem – it first appeared in Lyrical Ballads . The idea of killing an albatross bringing bad luck upon the crew of a ship appears to have been invented in this poem, as there is no precedent for it – and the albatross idea was probably William Wordsworth’s, not Coleridge’s (Wordsworth got the idea of the albatross-killing from a 1726 book, A Voyage Round The World by Way of the Great South Sea , by Captain George Shelvocke).

The poem is one of the great narrative poems in English, with the old mariner recounting his story, with its hardships and tragedy, to a wedding guest. Variously interpreted as being about guilt over the Transatlantic slave trade, about Coleridge’s own loneliness, and about spiritual salvation, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner remains a challenging poem about a journey whose lessons the ship’s crew, and we as readers, continue to learn from.

Robert Browning, ‘ How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix ’.

I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he; I gallop’d, Dirck gallop’d, we gallop’d all three; ‘Good speed!’ cried the watch, as the gate-bolts undrew; ‘Speed!’ echoed the wall to us galloping through; Behind shut the postern, the lights sank to rest, And into the midnight we gallop’d abreast …

Beginning with the wonderfully rhythmical lines ‘I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he; / I gallop’d, Dirck gallop’d, we gallop’d all three’. But this poem, describing a horse-ride to deliver some important news (although we never learn what the news actually is). Instead, the emphasis is on the journey itself, with the sound of the galloping horses excellently captured through the metre of the verse.

This poem has a notable claim to fame: in 1889, it became the first poem (spoken by the author) to be recorded on a phonograph, when Browning recited (half-remembered) words from the poem into an Edison phonograph at a dinner party.

Henry Cholmondeley Pennell, ‘ The Night Mail North ’.

Now then, take your seats! for Glasgow and the North; Chester! – Carlisle! – Holyhead, – and the wild Firth of Forth,

‘Clap on the steam and sharp’s the word, You men in scarlet cloth: –

‘Are there any more pas .. sengers, For the Night .. Mail .. to the North!’ Are there any more passengers? Yes three – but they can’t get in, – Too late, too late! – How they bellow and knock, They might as well try to soften a rock As the heart of that fellow in green …’

Before W. H. Auden’s more famous ‘Night Mail’ poem from 1936, there was this poem, whose full title is ‘The Night Mail North (Euston Square, 1840)’ – 1840 being the year the penny post was introduced in Britain. Pennell captures the snatches of conversation on the train as it prepares to embark on its long voyage north and the passengers settle down for their journey in this skilful piece of what we might call documentary poetry.

Emily Dickinson, ‘ Our Journey had advanced ’.

Our journey had advanced; Our feet were almost come To that odd fork in Being’s road, Eternity by term …

In many of the best journey poems, the journey is a metaphor for something greater – and this is certainly the case in this Emily Dickinson poem. And what journey is greater than that from life into death, mortality into eternity?

A. E. Housman, ‘ White in the moon the long road lies ’.

White in the moon the long road lies, The moon stands blank above; White in the moon the long road lies That leads me from my love.

Still hangs the hedge without a gust, Still, still the shadows stay: My feet upon the moonlit dust Pursue the ceaseless way …

In this poem, the king of lugubrious English verse writes about leaving his beloved, with the road lying ahead of him that ‘leads me from my love’. And although he trusts that the same road will eventually lead him back to his love, first he must travel far, far away.

W. B. Yeats, ‘ Sailing to Byzantium ’.

That is no country for old men. The young In one another’s arms, birds in the trees, —Those dying generations—at their song, The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas, Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long Whatever is begotten, born, and dies. Caught in that sensual music all neglect Monuments of unageing intellect …

W. B. Yeats wrote ‘Sailing to Byzantium’ in 1927, when he was in his early sixties, and the poem sees Yeats’s speaker announcing that the country he’s left behind is ‘no country for old men’.

Being old, the speaker felt out of place there, and so he is making a journey (a pilgrimage?) to the ancient city of Byzantium, which can be read as a symbol for his yearning for spiritual meaning: the poem, then, is about a spiritual journey, and renouncing the hold of the world upon us in order to attain something higher than the physical or sensual.

D. H. Lawrence, ‘ The Ship of Death ’.

Now it is autumn and the falling fruit and the long journey towards oblivion.

The apples falling like great drops of dew to bruise themselves an exit from themselves.

And it is time to go, to bid farewell to one’s own self, and find an exit from the fallen self …

A poem of angst and death, ‘The Ship of Death’ uses the metaphor of a journey to invoke the idea of self-discovery: the poem involves the poem’s speaker calling for the reader to prepare a ‘ship of death’ – ‘the fragile ship of courage, the ark of faith’ – to transport them to ‘oblivion’, travelling from ‘the old self’ to ‘the new’.

T. S. Eliot, ‘ Journey of the Magi ’.

A nativity poem with a difference, ‘Journey of the Magi’ (1927) is spoken by one of the ‘Three Wise Men’ (as they’re commonly known), as they make their journey to visit the infant Jesus. The speaker reflects on the hardships he and his fellow travellers endure on their journey, and the implications of the advent of Christ for the Magi’s own belief system.

Philip Larkin, ‘ The Whitsun Weddings ’.

This poem, the title poem in Larkin’s 1964 collection, describes a journey from Hull to London on the Whitsun weekend and the wedding parties that Larkin sees climbing aboard the train at each station. Actually inspired by a train journey from Hull down to Loughborough in the Midlands, ‘The Whitsun Weddings’ captures the hope and togetherness these wedding parties symbolise – although the poem can also be read in a less optimistic way .

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Definition of 'journey'

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by Edith Wharton

As she lay in her berth, staring at the shadows overhead, the rush of the wheels was in her brain, driving her deeper and deeper into circles of wakeful lucidity. The sleeping-car had sunk into its night-silence. Through the wet window-pane she watched the sudden lights, the long stretches of hurrying blackness. Now and then she turned her head and looked through the opening in the hangings at her husband's curtains across the aisle....

She wondered restlessly if he wanted anything and if she could hear him if he called. His voice had grown very weak within the last months and it irritated him when she did not hear. This irritability, this increasing childish petulance seemed to give expression to their imperceptible estrangement. Like two faces looking at one another through a sheet of glass they were close together, almost touching, but they could not hear or feel each other: the conductivity between them was broken. She, at least, had this sense of separation, and she fancied sometimes that she saw it reflected in the look with which he supplemented his failing words. Doubtless the fault was hers. She was too impenetrably healthy to be touched by the irrelevancies of disease. Her self-reproachful tenderness was tinged with the sense of his irrationality: she had a vague feeling that there was a purpose in his helpless tyrannies. The suddenness of the change had found her so unprepared. A year ago their pulses had beat to one robust measure; both had the same prodigal confidence in an exhaustless future. Now their energies no longer kept step: hers still bounded ahead of life, preempting unclaimed regions of hope and activity, while his lagged behind, vainly struggling to overtake her.

When they married, she had such arrears of living to make up: her days had been as bare as the whitewashed school-room where she forced innutritious facts upon reluctant children. His coming had broken in on the slumber of circumstance, widening the present till it became the encloser of remotest chances. But imperceptibly the horizon narrowed. Life had a grudge against her: she was never to be allowed to spread her wings.

At first the doctors had said that six weeks of mild air would set him right; but when he came back this assurance was explained as having of course included a winter in a dry climate. They gave up their pretty house, storing the wedding presents and new furniture, and went to Colorado. She had hated it there from the first. Nobody knew her or cared about her; there was no one to wonder at the good match she had made, or to envy her the new dresses and the visiting-cards which were still a surprise to her. And he kept growing worse. She felt herself beset with difficulties too evasive to be fought by so direct a temperament. She still loved him, of course; but he was gradually, undefinably ceasing to be himself. The man she had married had been strong, active, gently masterful: the male whose pleasure it is to clear a way through the material obstructions of life; but now it was she who was the protector, he who must be shielded from importunities and given his drops or his beef-juice though the skies were falling. The routine of the sick-room bewildered her; this punctual administering of medicine seemed as idle as some uncomprehended religious mummery.

There were moments, indeed, when warm gushes of pity swept away her instinctive resentment of his condition, when she still found his old self in his eyes as they groped for each other through the dense medium of his weakness. But these moments had grown rare. Sometimes he frightened her: his sunken expressionless face seemed that of a stranger; his voice was weak and hoarse; his thin-lipped smile a mere muscular contraction. Her hand avoided his damp soft skin, which had lost the familiar roughness of health: she caught herself furtively watching him as she might have watched a strange animal. It frightened her to feel that this was the man she loved; there were hours when to tell him what she suffered seemed the one escape from her fears. But in general she judged herself more leniently, reflecting that she had perhaps been too long alone with him, and that she would feel differently when they were at home again, surrounded by her robust and buoyant family. How she had rejoiced when the doctors at last gave their consent to his going home! She knew, of course, what the decision meant; they both knew. It meant that he was to die; but they dressed the truth in hopeful euphuisms, and at times, in the joy of preparation, she really forgot the purpose of their journey, and slipped into an eager allusion to next year's plans.

At last the day of leaving came. She had a dreadful fear that they would never get away; that somehow at the last moment he would fail her; that the doctors held one of their accustomed treacheries in reserve; but nothing happened. They drove to the station, he was installed in a seat with a rug over his knees and a cushion at his back, and she hung out of the window waving unregretful farewells to the acquaintances she had really never liked till then.

The first twenty-four hours had passed off well. He revived a little and it amused him to look out of the window and to observe the humours of the car. The second day he began to grow weary and to chafe under the dispassionate stare of the freckled child with the lump of chewing-gum. She had to explain to the child's mother that her husband was too ill to be disturbed: a statement received by that lady with a resentment visibly supported by the maternal sentiment of the whole car....

That night he slept badly and the next morning his temperature frightened her: she was sure he was growing worse. The day passed slowly, punctuated by the small irritations of travel. Watching his tired face, she traced in its contractions every rattle and jolt of the tram, till her own body vibrated with sympathetic fatigue. She felt the others observing him too, and hovered restlessly between him and the line of interrogative eyes. The freckled child hung about him like a fly; offers of candy and picture- books failed to dislodge her: she twisted one leg around the other and watched him imperturbably. The porter, as he passed, lingered with vague proffers of help, probably inspired by philanthropic passengers swelling with the sense that "something ought to be done;" and one nervous man in a skull-cap was audibly concerned as to the possible effect on his wife's health.

The hours dragged on in a dreary inoccupation. Towards dusk she sat down beside him and he laid his hand on hers. The touch startled her. He seemed to be calling her from far off. She looked at him helplessly and his smile went through her like a physical pang.

"Are you very tired?" she asked.

"No, not very."

"We'll be there soon now."

"Yes, very soon."

"This time to-morrow--"

He nodded and they sat silent. When she had put him to bed and crawled into her own berth she tried to cheer herself with the thought that in less than twenty-four hours they would be in New York. Her people would all be at the station to meet her--she pictured their round unanxious faces pressing through the crowd. She only hoped they would not tell him too loudly that he was looking splendidly and would be all right in no time: the subtler sympathies developed by long contact with suffering were making her aware of a certain coarseness of texture in the family sensibilities.

Suddenly she thought she heard him call. She parted the curtains and listened. No, it was only a man snoring at the other end of the car. His snores had a greasy sound, as though they passed through tallow. She lay down and tried to sleep... Had she not heard him move? She started up trembling... The silence frightened her more than any sound. He might not be able to make her hear--he might be calling her now... What made her think of such things? It was merely the familiar tendency of an over-tired mind to fasten itself on the most intolerable chance within the range of its forebodings.... Putting her head out, she listened; but she could not distinguish his breathing from that of the other pairs of lungs about her. She longed to get up and look at him, but she knew the impulse was a mere vent for her restlessness, and the fear of disturbing him restrained her.... The regular movement of his curtain reassured her, she knew not why; she remembered that he had wished her a cheerful good-night; and the sheer inability to endure her fears a moment longer made her put them from her with an effort of her whole sound tired body. She turned on her side and slept.

She sat up stiffly, staring out at the dawn. The train was rushing through a region of bare hillocks huddled against a lifeless sky. It looked like the first day of creation. The air of the car was close, and she pushed up her window to let in the keen wind. Then she looked at her watch: it was seven o'clock, and soon the people about her would be stirring. She slipped into her clothes, smoothed her dishevelled hair and crept to the dressing-room. When she had washed her face and adjusted her dress she felt more hopeful. It was always a struggle for her not to be cheerful in the morning. Her cheeks burned deliciously under the coarse towel and the wet hair about her temples broke into strong upward tendrils. Every inch of her was full of life and elasticity. And in ten hours they would be at home!

She stepped to her husband's berth: it was time for him to take his early glass of milk. The window-shade was down, and in the dusk of the curtained enclosure she could just see that he lay sideways, with his face away from her. She leaned over him and drew up the shade. As she did so she touched one of his hands. It felt cold....

She bent closer, laying her hand on his arm and calling him by name. He did not move. She spoke again more loudly; she grasped his shoulder and gently shook it. He lay motionless. She caught hold of his hand again: it slipped from her limply, like a dead thing. A dead thing? ... Her breath caught. She must see his face. She leaned forward, and hurriedly, shrinkingly, with a sickening reluctance of the flesh, laid her hands on his shoulders and turned him over. His head fell back; his face looked small and smooth; he gazed at her with steady eyes.

She remained motionless for a long time, holding him thus; and they looked at each other. Suddenly she shrank back: the longing to scream, to call out, to fly from him, had almost overpowered her. But a strong hand arrested her. Good God! If it were known that he was dead they would be put off the train at the next station--

In a terrifying flash of remembrance there arose before her a scene she had once witnessed in travelling, when a husband and wife, whose child had died in the train, had been thrust out at some chance station. She saw them standing on the platform with the child's body between them; she had never forgotten the dazed look with which they followed the receding train. And this was what would happen to her. Within the next hour she might find herself on the platform of some strange station, alone with her husband's body.... Anything but that! It was too horrible--She quivered like a creature at bay.

As she cowered there, she felt the train moving more slowly. It was coming then--they were approaching a station! She saw again the husband and wife standing on the lonely platform; and with a violent gesture she drew down the shade to hide her husband's face.

Feeling dizzy, she sank down on the edge of the berth, keeping away from his outstretched body, and pulling the curtains close, so that he and she were shut into a kind of sepulchral twilight. She tried to think. At all costs she must conceal the fact that he was dead. But how? Her mind refused to act: she could not plan, combine. She could think of no way but to sit there, clutching the curtains, all day long....

She heard the porter making up her bed; people were beginning to move about the car; the dressing-room door was being opened and shut. She tried to rouse herself. At length with a supreme effort she rose to her feet, stepping into the aisle of the car and drawing the curtains tight behind her. She noticed that they still parted slightly with the motion of the car, and finding a pin in her dress she fastened them together. Now she was safe. She looked round and saw the porter. She fancied he was watching her.

"Ain't he awake yet?" he enquired.

"No," she faltered.

"I got his milk all ready when he wants it. You know you told me to have it for him by seven."

She nodded silently and crept into her seat.

At half-past eight the train reached Buffalo. By this time the other passengers were dressed and the berths had been folded back for the day. The porter, moving to and fro under his burden of sheets and pillows, glanced at her as he passed. At length he said: "Ain't he going to get up? You know we're ordered to make up the berths as early as we can."

She turned cold with fear. They were just entering the station.

"Oh, not yet," she stammered. "Not till he's had his milk. Won't you get it, please?"

"All right. Soon as we start again."

When the train moved on he reappeared with the milk. She took it from him and sat vaguely looking at it: her brain moved slowly from one idea to another, as though they were stepping-stones set far apart across a whirling flood. At length she became aware that the porter still hovered expectantly.

"Will I give it to him?" he suggested.

"Oh, no," she cried, rising. "He--he's asleep yet, I think--"

She waited till the porter had passed on; then she unpinned the curtains and slipped behind them. In the semi-obscurity her husband's face stared up at her like a marble mask with agate eyes. The eyes were dreadful. She put out her hand and drew down the lids. Then she remembered the glass of milk in her other hand: what was she to do with it? She thought of raising the window and throwing it out; but to do so she would have to lean across his body and bring her face close to his. She decided to drink the milk.

She returned to her seat with the empty glass and after a while the porter came back to get it.

"When'll I fold up his bed?" he asked.

"Oh, not now--not yet; he's ill--he's very ill. Can't you let him stay as he is? The doctor wants him to lie down as much as possible."

He scratched his head. "Well, if he's _really_ sick--"

He took the empty glass and walked away, explaining to the passengers that the party behind the curtains was too sick to get up just yet.

She found herself the centre of sympathetic eyes. A motherly woman with an intimate smile sat down beside her.

"I'm real sorry to hear your husband's sick. I've had a remarkable amount of sickness in my family and maybe I could assist you. Can I take a look at him?"

"Oh, no--no, please! He mustn't be disturbed."

The lady accepted the rebuff indulgently.

"Well, it's just as you say, of course, but you don't look to me as if you'd had much experience in sickness and I'd have been glad to assist you. What do you generally do when your husband's taken this way?"

"I--I let him sleep."

"Too much sleep ain't any too healthful either. Don't you give him any medicine?"

"Don't you wake him to take it?"

"When does he take the next dose?"

"Not for--two hours--"

The lady looked disappointed. "Well, if I was you I'd try giving it oftener. That's what I do with my folks."

After that many faces seemed to press upon her. The passengers were on their way to the dining-car, and she was conscious that as they passed down the aisle they glanced curiously at the closed curtains. One lantern- jawed man with prominent eyes stood still and tried to shoot his projecting glance through the division between the folds. The freckled child, returning from breakfast, waylaid the passers with a buttery clutch, saying in a loud whisper, "He's sick;" and once the conductor came by, asking for tickets. She shrank into her corner and looked out of the window at the flying trees and houses, meaningless hieroglyphs of an endlessly unrolled papyrus.

Now and then the train stopped, and the newcomers on entering the car stared in turn at the closed curtains. More and more people seemed to pass--their faces began to blend fantastically with the images surging in her brain....

Later in the day a fat man detached himself from the mist of faces. He had a creased stomach and soft pale lips. As he pressed himself into the seat facing her she noticed that he was dressed in black broadcloth, with a soiled white tie.

"Husband's pretty bad this morning, is he?"

"Dear, dear! Now that's terribly distressing, ain't it?" An apostolic smile revealed his gold-filled teeth.

"Of course you know there's no sech thing as sickness. Ain't that a lovely thought? Death itself is but a deloosion of our grosser senses. On'y lay yourself open to the influx of the sperrit, submit yourself passively to the action of the divine force, and disease and dissolution will cease to exist for you. If you could indooce your husband to read this little pamphlet--"

The faces about her again grew indistinct. She had a vague recollection of hearing the motherly lady and the parent of the freckled child ardently disputing the relative advantages of trying several medicines at once, or of taking each in turn; the motherly lady maintaining that the competitive system saved time; the other objecting that you couldn't tell which remedy had effected the cure; their voices went on and on, like bell-buoys droning through a fog.... The porter came up now and then with questions that she did not understand, but that somehow she must have answered since he went away again without repeating them; every two hours the motherly lady reminded her that her husband ought to have his drops; people left the car and others replaced them...

Her head was spinning and she tried to steady herself by clutching at her thoughts as they swept by, but they slipped away from her like bushes on the side of a sheer precipice down which she seemed to be falling. Suddenly her mind grew clear again and she found herself vividly picturing what would happen when the train reached New York. She shuddered as it occurred to her that he would be quite cold and that some one might perceive he had been dead since morning.

She thought hurriedly:--"If they see I am not surprised they will suspect something. They will ask questions, and if I tell them the truth they won't believe me--no one would believe me! It will be terrible"--and she kept repeating to herself:--"I must pretend I don't know. I must pretend I don't know. When they open the curtains I must go up to him quite naturally--and then I must scream." ... She had an idea that the scream would be very hard to do.

Gradually new thoughts crowded upon her, vivid and urgent: she tried to separate and restrain them, but they beset her clamorously, like her school-children at the end of a hot day, when she was too tired to silence them. Her head grew confused, and she felt a sick fear of forgetting her part, of betraying herself by some unguarded word or look.

"I must pretend I don't know," she went on murmuring. The words had lost their significance, but she repeated them mechanically, as though they had been a magic formula, until suddenly she heard herself saying: "I can't remember, I can't remember!"

Her voice sounded very loud, and she looked about her in terror; but no one seemed to notice that she had spoken.

As she glanced down the car her eye caught the curtains of her husband's berth, and she began to examine the monotonous arabesques woven through their heavy folds. The pattern was intricate and difficult to trace; she gazed fixedly at the curtains and as she did so the thick stuff grew transparent and through it she saw her husband's face--his dead face. She struggled to avert her look, but her eyes refused to move and her head seemed to be held in a vice. At last, with an effort that left her weak and shaking, she turned away; but it was of no use; close in front of her, small and smooth, was her husband's face. It seemed to be suspended in the air between her and the false braids of the woman who sat in front of her. With an uncontrollable gesture she stretched out her hand to push the face away, and suddenly she felt the touch of his smooth skin. She repressed a cry and half started from her seat. The woman with the false braids looked around, and feeling that she must justify her movement in some way she rose and lifted her travelling-bag from the opposite seat. She unlocked the bag and looked into it; but the first object her hand met was a small flask of her husband's, thrust there at the last moment, in the haste of departure. She locked the bag and closed her eyes ... his face was there again, hanging between her eye-balls and lids like a waxen mask against a red curtain....

She roused herself with a shiver. Had she fainted or slept? Hours seemed to have elapsed; but it was still broad day, and the people about her were sitting in the same attitudes as before.

A sudden sense of hunger made her aware that she had eaten nothing since morning. The thought of food filled her with disgust, but she dreaded a return of faintness, and remembering that she had some biscuits in her bag she took one out and ate it. The dry crumbs choked her, and she hastily swallowed a little brandy from her husband's flask. The burning sensation in her throat acted as a counter-irritant, momentarily relieving the dull ache of her nerves. Then she felt a gently-stealing warmth, as though a soft air fanned her, and the swarming fears relaxed their clutch, receding through the stillness that enclosed her, a stillness soothing as the spacious quietude of a summer day. She slept.

Through her sleep she felt the impetuous rush of the train. It seemed to be life itself that was sweeping her on with headlong inexorable force-- sweeping her into darkness and terror, and the awe of unknown days.--Now all at once everything was still--not a sound, not a pulsation... She was dead in her turn, and lay beside him with smooth upstaring face. How quiet it was!--and yet she heard feet coming, the feet of the men who were to carry them away... She could feel too--she felt a sudden prolonged vibration, a series of hard shocks, and then another plunge into darkness: the darkness of death this time--a black whirlwind on which they were both spinning like leaves, in wild uncoiling spirals, with millions and millions of the dead....

She sprang up in terror. Her sleep must have lasted a long time, for the winter day had paled and the lights had been lit. The car was in confusion, and as she regained her self-possession she saw that the passengers were gathering up their wraps and bags. The woman with the false braids had brought from the dressing-room a sickly ivy-plant in a bottle, and the Christian Scientist was reversing his cuffs. The porter passed down the aisle with his impartial brush. An impersonal figure with a gold-banded cap asked for her husband's ticket. A voice shouted "Baig- gage express!" and she heard the clicking of metal as the passengers handed over their checks.

Presently her window was blocked by an expanse of sooty wall, and the train passed into the Harlem tunnel. The journey was over; in a few minutes she would see her family pushing their joyous way through the throng at the station. Her heart dilated. The worst terror was past....

"We'd better get him up now, hadn't we?" asked the porter, touching her arm.

He had her husband's hat in his hand and was meditatively revolving it under his brush.

She looked at the hat and tried to speak; but suddenly the car grew dark. She flung up her arms, struggling to catch at something, and fell face downward, striking her head against the dead man's berth.

A Journey is featured in Short Stories for High School II

Return to the Edith Wharton library , or . . . Read the next short story; April Showers

• Cast & crew

Refusing treatment for her cancer, a woman goes on a road trip across Tasmania to check off items on her bucket list with her husband and best friend. Refusing treatment for her cancer, a woman goes on a road trip across Tasmania to check off items on her bucket list with her husband and best friend. Refusing treatment for her cancer, a woman goes on a road trip across Tasmania to check off items on her bucket list with her husband and best friend.

• RC Delos Reyes
• Erwin Blanco
• Rona Lean Sales
• Paolo Contis
• Patrick Garcia
• 10 Critic reviews

• Kristoffer Tupe

• Ogie Alcasid

• Juana Korrinne

• Showbiz Reporter

• (as Mama Loi)

• Tupe's Manager

• Businessman
• Elementary Shane

• Elementary Bryan

• Elementary Tupe

• Highschool Jane

• Highschool Bryan
• (as Petever Von Llona)
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• Soundtracks Tabing ilog Music and lyrics by Barbie Almalbis (as Barbie Almalbis-Honasan) and Rommel Dela Cruz Administered by House of Tunes Music Publishing Arrangement by Tim Recla (as Timothy Recla) Drums by Luke Sigua Acoustic guitar by Luis Cortez Recorded by Tim Recla (as Timothy Recla) at the Purple Room Mixed by Tim Recla (as Timothy Recla) Performed by Vanessa Garcia

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• April 12, 2024 (United States)
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• Penguin, Tasmania, Australlia
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Synonyms of journey

• as in to travel
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Thesaurus Definition of journey

 (Entry 1 of 2)

Synonyms & Similar Words

• peregrination
• commutation

Thesaurus Definition of journey  (Entry 2 of 2)

• peregrinate
• road - trip
• knock (about)
• perambulate

Articles Related to journey

8 Ways to Get Away From It All

Whether it's a jaunt or a junket, remember sunblock.

Thesaurus Entries Near journey

Cite this entry.

“Journey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/journey. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.

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Nglish: Translation of journey for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of journey for Arabic Speakers

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'A Journey' Review: Netflix's Filipino film leaves you teary-eyed with profound emotions

MANILA, PHILIPPINES: 'A Journey', now streaming on Netflix , takes viewers on a poignant two-hour exploration of profound emotions.

It revolves around a young woman, Shane, whose cancer returns for the second time and she chooses to opt out of undergoing chemotherapy again.

Instead, she convinces her husband, Bryan, to help her check off the adventures on her bucket list. Accompanied by their close friend, Kristoff, the trio sets off on an unforgettable adventure to Tasmania.

Netflix's 'A Journey' is an emotional one

The film delivers a deeply emotional experience, evoking tears as it portrays Shane and Bryan's heartfelt journey through the diagnosis of the deadly disease.

Despite the expected emotional moments, the film also celebrates love and enduring friendships.

It's central philosophy- "survival is not the same as living" is beautiful portrayed, emphasizing the idea that one never knows what may happen tomorrow.

There have been plenty of films made in the past with similar themes, but the portrayal of deep, sentimental human emotions can never become worn out in cinema. In fact, they are the heart of cinema, depicted across all genres.

'A Journey' doesn't bore you with monotony

The plot of the film is quite familiar and has been depicted in several films across continents.

Fortunately, RC Delos Reyes does a brilliant job of not lingering on emotional moments but maintains a steady pace, ensuring the audience remains engaged and invested in the story.

The close, fun relationship shared between the trio provides a heartfelt relief from the heavily loaded emotions of pain and grief.

Paolo Contis, Patrick Garcia and Kaye Abad share a wholesome chemistry and are quite convincing in their respective parts.

'A Journey' makes a worthwhile watch for a relaxed weekend, alone or with loved ones. Just be prepared with tissues handy for this touching ride.

'A Journey' trailer

'A Journey' is now streaming on Netflix.

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noun as in travel from one place to another

Strongest matches

• exploration

Strong matches

• constitutional
• peregrination
• transmigration
• vagabondage

verb as in travel

• peregrinate

Weak matches

• knock about
• take a trip

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Example sentences.

If either is selected, it would not launch until 2026 at the earliest, and would take at least a few months to make the journey.

The job is a cherry on top, but the journey and the experience of being able to audition and leave your heart in the room and feel good about it, no matter what happens, that’s rare and that was amazing.

Cross-device measurement helps connect the dots of your customer’s journey and ensures you know how effective your campaigns are at driving user behavior.

You are somewhat of a new grandmother and you’ve been enjoying that journey.

Instead of having numerous articles addressing each of these particular questions, brands and publishers could consolidate this information as it is all pertinent to the same stage of the journey that the user is in.

The brokers then scout out potential “crew members” who can earn substantial discounts for working the journey.

The next day, after driving to Putney on the outskirts of London, we start the end of our journey.

The NYPD Emerald Society pipes and drums struck up a slow march and the procession began the journey to the cemetery.

We began a journey with Koenig in the first episode of Serial.

But the sunlight is threatening to fade and a three-and-a-half-hour river journey back to Kisangani looms.

With a hammer the boy knocked off some of the slats of the small box in which Squinty had made his journey.

Then summoning a smart young jemadar with whom he had talked a good deal during the journey, he asked him to read the chit.

But dismissing them from our thoughts for the time being, as we did then from our presence, let us continue our journey.

If the journey is now distasteful to her, she has but her own rashness to blame in having sought it herself.

It was past sundown when they left San Bernardino, but a full moon made the night as good as day for their journey.

Related Words

Words related to journey are not direct synonyms, but are associated with the word journey . Browse related words to learn more about word associations.

noun as in existence

• subsistence

noun as in revolution, track, boundary

• bound/bounds
• circulation
• circumference
• circumnavigation
• circumscription
• circumvolution
• perambulation

verb as in sail

• keep steady pace
• push off/push on
• wander about

noun as in sailing expedition

verb as in travel, visit

• pass through

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On this page you'll find 148 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to journey, such as: adventure, campaign, course, crossing, drive, and expedition.

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

Bernie Williams on a ‘nervous’ journey from World Series to New York Philharmonic

For Bernie Williams, grabbing a bat was easy. He would pull out the same trusty 34 1/2-inch, 33-ounce Rawlings model for all occasions during his New York Yankees career, whether that was in spring training or the playoffs, whether he was facing a flamethrower or a knuckleballer.

Music, however, is different.

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“Choosing a guitar is about the gig,’’ Williams said. “It’s about the sound that you want to create, and it’s about the music that you’re going to play. You need the right instrument with the right gig, and that varies with time.”

Such is what vexes the former outfielder as he prepares for a second big-league debut — this time in the arts. Williams for the first time will play guitar with the New York Philharmonic, at the Spring Gala on Wednesday, an epic milestone for a five-time All-Star and four-time World Series champion now deep into life’s second act.

So, which guitar? The acoustic steel string? The archtop? Williams said a few weeks ago that he might even choose to go electric “for that sort of Santana-like sound,” though he added it “might just be too over the top for that environment.”

Williams, who spent his entire career with the Yankees from 1991 to 2006, has rebranded himself as an accomplished musician, ordained with a Latin Grammy nomination and critical acclaim. Still, at age 55, the thought of stepping into the spotlight at another hallowed New York venue — think Yankee Stadium, but with better acoustics — gives Williams butterflies.

On Wednesday, he will play one selection, his 2009 piece “Moving Forward,” as newly arranged by jazz artist Jeff Tyzik. Famed conductor Gustavo Dudamel will be at the helm.

“I expect to be as nervous as I’ve ever been on any kind of stage,’’ Williams said “But I think it’s gonna be no different from playing a seventh game of the World Series, you know?”

To answer that last question: No, Mr. Williams, we don’t know. There is no one else in baseball history poised to compare the experience of baseball’s Fall Classic and the Philharmonic’s Spring Gala. No one else has played in “The House That Ruth Built” and in the concert hall Leonard Bernstein christened by conducting on opening night in 1962.

Williams’ distinction means much gnashing of teeth for the president and CEO of the New York Philharmonic. Gary Ginstling is an ardent Mets fan.

“This is a deeply difficult decision for me, I have to say,’’ Ginstling cracked during a phone interview. “I did scour the landscape for any retired Mets. But no one could hold a candle to Bernie Williams.”

This experience is enough to give Williams flashbacks to his first big-league at-bat. The switch hitter was 22 years old when he stepped to the plate in the third inning at Yankee Stadium against left-handed junkballer Jeff Ballard on July 7, 1991. It was hardly a soaring opening note. The Baseball-Reference box score immortalized the moment this way: Groundout: 3B-1B (Weak 3B) .

The outing got better. Williams drove in a run with the sacrifice fly in the fifth and brought home another run with an infield single in the ninth .

“I remember being really nervous,’’ Williams said of that debut. “I remember being in this place where there was a lot of uncertainty about my career and my own ability to stay in the big leagues. All I wanted to do was to get an opportunity to be able to show people what I can do.’’

A week later, Williams hit his first home run at Anaheim Stadium against the California Angels. He hit a fastball thrown by Chuck Finley over the left-center field wall. He kept rolling from there: a .297 batting average with 287 home runs and 147 stolen bases over 16 seasons.

July 14, 1991 Bernie Williams hits his first career home run pic.twitter.com/nYIteNuXlL — NY Yankees Throwbacks (@yankeethrowback) February 19, 2022

Williams helped the Yankees win four World Series titles, including three in a row from 1998 to 2000. His 22 career postseason homers rank third all-time behind Manny Ramírez (29) and José Altuve (27).

That summation has applied, at times, to his musical career, partly because it would be easy to dismiss Williams as just another retired jock with an expensive new hobby. But his lifelong musical journey is part of what appeals to the New York Philharmonic. The Spring Gala, to be performed at the David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, is a fundraiser for musical education. Ginstling wants the younger crowd to be inspired by Williams’ scholarly dedication to his craft.

Williams’ first instructor was his father. Bernabé Williams, an able seaman with the Merchant Marine, returned from Spain with a gift for his 7-year-old son. It was a guitar that his son never put down. The family then found a guitar teacher in its neighborhood in Puerto Rico, and by the time Bernie was 9 years old, he had performed on a local radio station with other star pupils.

“The guitar teacher had all the little kids that were taking lessons with him, the ones that were kind of like standouts,’’ Williams recalled. “He would give them an opportunity to play a song or two on that radio show. … It was such a great experience and kind of set the stage for everything that came after.”

Williams kept playing throughout his baseball career, especially so while grieving the loss of his father, who died of lung disease in 2001 . The former batting champion then studied guitar and composition for a year at the State University of New York at Purchase in preparation for his first album, “Moving Forward.” That release strengthened his bona fides thanks to 14 solid tracks including collaborations with Bruce Springsteen, Jon Secada and Dave Koz.

But eventually, Williams formalized his expertise. He enrolled in the prestigious Manhattan School of Music en route to a bachelor’s degree.

“I tell you what, none of the home runs that I hit in the postseason helped me there,” Williams said. “I had to really reinvent myself. And in a very strange way, I had to earn the admiration of the kids that I was playing with, because they were all virtuosos in their own instruments by the time they got to the Manhattan School of Music.

“I was the old guy in the back of the room. I was asking all the questions and asking that no one erase the blackboard until I was finished writing all the notes.”

Williams wasn’t chasing a diploma for the sake of the paper. The experience signified his graduation from ballplayer to artist.

“I think the school gave me a great perspective on the reasons why I wanted to be a musician and the responsibility that we have as music makers to make sure that we make this world a better place,” he said. “The joy and the power of music is just incredible thing to use for the good of the world.”

Therein lies the message of the Spring Gala and underscores why even a Mets fan like Ginstling embraces a Yankee in the house. The eclectic bill on Wednesday is designed to introduce new audiences to the philharmonic. Selections range from a suite from Richard Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier” to two pieces from rapper Common to an aria called “Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5,” sung by the South Korean soprano Hera Hyesang Park.

“I think that’s what I’m so excited about,” Ginstling said. “We’re gonna get a ton of Bernie Williams fans in the house that night who probably will be hearing the New York Philharmonic for the first time. It’ll be great for them to hear Bernie, but we want them to hear the orchestra play Strauss. And we want them to hear the orchestra play Nina Shekhar, this up-and-coming composer whose piece we’re playing.

“We’re hoping that they’ll get hooked not just by Bernie, but by all of this repertoire, and they’ll come back.”

Until then, Williams sometimes wakes up unexpectedly at 2:30 a.m. and reaches for his guitar. Still half-awake, he’ll strum until the notes sound just as they should before allowing himself to drift back to sleep.

“That’s the level of preparation you need for an event like this,” he said. “Because when the nerves come in, you want to still be in control and not freeze when the situation arises. The only antidote to that is being well-prepared.

“That’s true of doing anything that requires the spotlight and great expectations and great pressures.”

Williams hardly is the first ballplayer to make news with his music. As far back as 1964, a Yankees bus ride turned tense when Yogi Berra grew tired of hearing “Mary Had a Little Lamb” as played on the harmonica by a utility infielder named Phil Linz.

But that was the “New York Phil harmonica.” The New York Philharmonic is a whole different ballgame.

“If anything,” Williams said, “baseball taught me to be able to perform under pressure, and this is definitely going put that to the test.”

(Top photo: Mychal Watts / Getty Images)

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Daniel Brown is a staff editor/writer for The Athletic MLB. He began covering Bay Area sports in 1995, including stints as a beat writer covering the Giants and 49ers. His feature story on Sergio Romo and a young cancer patient won first place in feature writing from the Associated Press Sports Editors in 2015. He is a native of Cotati, Calif., and a graduate of UC Davis. Follow Daniel on Twitter @ BrownieAthletic

News from the Columbia Climate School

Army Veteran and Environmental Advocate: A Sustainability Science Student’s Journey to Columbia

Rowen Carrick

Columbia Climate School

Olivia Colton was always interested in the natural sciences. But before starting the Master of Science in Sustainability Science (SUSCI) program, she was an active-duty officer in the U.S. Army stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany, and Monterey, California, where she served as a platoon leader and executive officer.

Paging through a military magazine in a waiting room one day, Colton came across an article referencing low veteran enrollment at Ivy League universities—a detail that stayed in the back of her mind. A few months later, when she was completing her military service and looking for sustainability master’s programs, Colton felt encouraged to apply to Columbia’s SUSCI program.

Carrying her leadership skills into her new environment, Colton has been involved with student life in the Academic Affairs Office for the Sustainability Graduate Programs, the Sustainability Science program as an Earth Institute Fellow, and as a School of Professional Studies student government representative at Columbia. Last summer, she also worked at the Tree Ring Lab at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory , where she helped catalog nearly 2,000 cross-section tree samples from field studies across the globe.

After graduating, Colton plans to pursue a research career in environmental conservation. In the Q&A below, she reflects on the SUSCI program’s interdisciplinary coursework, and how her time in the military and at Columbia has prepared her to work on a range of sustainability initiatives.

Your undergraduate degree is in conservation biology. What first sparked your interest in natural sciences?

I guess I have never given it that much thought; it’s just always been part of who I am. For as long as I can remember, birthdays were spent at the zoo, and family vacations involved a lot of hiking. I think it probably comes from the feeling of wonder I experience when I’m in nature! Our world doesn’t have magic or anything like that, but nature often feels like the closest thing to it.

What did your research at the Tree Ring Lab focus on? What were some challenges you experienced?

Last summer, I analyzed field samples from across the globe, all destined for meticulous cataloging and organization. There are thousands of unsorted samples in the Tree Ring Lab from six continents, so most days in the lab were consumed by intricate comparisons and cross-referencing to ensure that each sample was accurately labeled and sorted.

The work also included sorting the metadata for each of those samples via System for Earth Sample Registration and using that to allocate each one to a unique identifier known as an International Generic Sample Number .

As for challenges, on my last day in the lab, we opened up a box of untranslated samples collected in Egypt in the 1980s. We had sorted more than a thousand samples by this point, and this was the first group of untranslated samples that we came across. As luck would have it, my seven semesters of Arabic from my undergraduate days proved to be a lifesaver. Unfortunately, I haven’t used it much in the last five years, and Egyptian Arabic is notoriously unique, so it took me several hours to translate and decipher. It certainly added a thrilling finale to my summer in the lab.

Could you elaborate on your experience of joining the Army after your undergraduate degree, and what compelled you to continue your education after leaving the Army?

I was a member of the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps during my undergraduate study. They gave me a full-ride scholarship, and then after graduation, I owed them [at least] four years of service. I started active duty about a week after graduation from Louisiana State University and actually completed it during my first semester here!

I knew I eventually wanted to pursue a master’s degree, but I had at least four years of service before I would reach that point. As I was preparing to end my time in service, I knew that if I did not go back to school right then, there was a much lower chance that I ever would. Leaving the military was a big transition, and bundling it with a big move, but starting school felt more manageable, somehow.

How did you find out about the SUSCI program, and what inspired you to apply?

I have a distinct memory of picking up a military magazine in a waiting room and reading an article about a veteran who went to Yale. The article mentioned the low veteran enrollment at Ivy League universities (although Columbia has more than the other Ivy Leagues combined). I found it interesting but did not think it would ever really apply to me.

Fast-forward a few months; I came across Columbia when I was googling schools with master’s programs in sustainability. I kept a handwritten list of schools I was interested in and their locations. I still have that notebook somewhere, and I’m pretty sure I have Columbia circled with “LOL” because I thought there was no chance I would get in… but here I am!

You’re very involved with student life. What positions do you hold, and what have you learned from the experience?

I am currently the Sustainability Science representative for student government and serve on our social committee. I am also a member of Columbia MilVets . My biggest takeaway from it is the importance of being involved. These events are happening because people want to see YOU there!

As an intern for the Academic Affairs Office, what does it mean for you to engage with prospective applicants to the SUSCI program? 

It’s a lot of fun! These days, I have classes with students who I reached out to and answered questions for as they applied, and then sent packages to them when they were accepted. It’s fun to see their full progression! I feel like I contributed to their journey, even just a little.

Having so many unique positions at Columbia simultaneously is not an easy feat. How do you balance your time?

That is a great question, and unfortunately, I’m not sure I really have an answer. Having prior stressful job experiences definitely helps. I guess this goes along with my passion for the natural world, but I just find very little joy in sitting at home. While not exactly an environmental haven, that’s part of the reason I love NYC so much—there’s always something to do!

Do you have any advice you’d like to share with current or prospective students?

My main piece of advice would be to get involved! If you’re not involved on campus, there is still so much you can do in our city! If you’re going to make this much of an investment for tuition and rent, you need to get the most out of it. My second would be to make sure you take classes you’re interested in and explore options outside of our department. I wish I had shopped around a little more during my first semester!

The  Master of Science in Sustainability Science  program, offered by the School of Professional Studies in partnership with the Climate School, is designed for current and aspiring leaders who wish to help organizations understand the technical aspects of sustainability, including predicting and addressing environmental impacts.

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• Festival in Focus: Saudi Film Festival Master Of Ceremonies Mohammed Elshehri Talks Journey From MC To Film & TV Fame

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Actor Mohammed Elshehri belongs to a generation of emerging Saudi talents who first cut their teeth on YouTube and are now making their names in film and TV.

The rising star will be master of ceremonies at the upcoming Saudi Film Festival in the Eastern Province city of Dhahran, which will be celebrating its 10th edition from from May 2 to 9.

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Elshehri’s master of ceremonies role takes him back an earlier time in his career, as a TV and event presenter.

This work grew out of YouTube show Trailer , which he created around 2014, after coming to the conclusion he would never achieve his dream of becoming an actor on mainstream TV. “I felt there was no chance I was ever going to get a role as an unknown,” he recounts. “I decided to stop being an actor and to do something around it instead. It was kind of Jimmy Kimmel style. It wasn’t criticism, it was more recommendations with a light, funny tone. I did three seasons.”

The second season caught Netflix’s eye and they started working with Elshehri to promote their shows in the region, even inviting him to the set of Spanish crime thriller Money Heist .

This work came to an abrupt end with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, but Elshehri says he was not too disheartened as he already wanted to move on.

“I saw it as a sign that it was time for me to stop,” he says.

Shortly after, he secured a supporting role in The Fates Hotel , an original series created for MBC platform Shahid.

The hit crime drama revolved around the illicit goings-on in a dilapidated hotel located on the outskirts of the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.

“It was good for me because it showed people that I was an actor and not just a host,” he says.

Within a year, he had been approached for roles in Khalid Fahad’s 2022 feature Valley Road and Road Trip , which was developed to run in a primetime slot over the Ramadan religious period.

“Everyone in the Arab region is watching TV when they break their fast. It wasn’t easy as an unknown actor,” he says.

“It’s a different experience from being on a show on a platform… On public TV, everyone watches and if they don’t like it, they’ll say it on the social networks… shows come under attack. But we felt we had something and with second season it went boom.”

Elshehri suggests the show’s success is due in part to the fact that Saudi audiences identify closely with the three fraternal protagonists.

“When I’m walking in the street. People come up to me all the time and say my character reminds them of cousin or a brother,” he says.

With the third season over with the end of Ramadan, Elshehri has yet to learn whether a fourth season will be greenlit. He suggests it is a format has more mileage in it yet.

In the meantime, he is in throes of negotiating a new role in a Saudi feature that is due to shoot in September.

Ahead of his Saudi Film Festival appeareance, he says it is a must-attend event for people in the burgeoning local film industry.

“We love this festival. It’s where we meet our family. The director Ahmed Amulla is one of a kind. He’s so humble. He is trying to help everyone. I know so many talented people who have found themselves at this festival.”

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