Willow Beshers: The Birthplace of Democracy
The Acropolis, something most people have on their bucket list, is a beautiful and amazing historic site, and like most I was super excited to see. But as you are starting your hike up the hill towards the site in 80-degree heat, the last thing you expect to see is an admission booth; while logical, it’s not something many people think about. The biggest roadblock for this specific outing happened when we first arrived; after my professor and I had gotten out of the taxi we had taken to get to the site, we had walked to the admission counter just to be told that the next group allowed to go to the top of the Acropolis wouldn’t be allowed to go for another 3 hours. Had we just accepted this, we wouldn’t have had enough time to see the structure before flying to Rhodes that afternoon. Thankfully, my professor was able to get us in earlier. We weren’t finished there after we had made through the admission gates, we still had to weave through people on narrow paths and up steep staircases. All this just to get a glimpse at what most people dream of seeing.
It wasn’t until I got to the top that it clicked: nothing else mattered in the grand scheme of things. As I was standing 20 feet from the columns of this magnificent and vastly old structure, I realized how insignificant I really was, like a grain of sand on a beach, which took me down a different thought process. This was a structure that had stood the test of time and survived pillaging and war. But then it hit me that it was just people my size and my age that built this staple of the Greek capital. It was this thought that gave me solace in my initial reaction to standing so close to living history.
The semester after my study abroad I was able to truly reflect on the experiences I had next to that and many other structures during my trip. One such reflection stands out compared to others. It was a conversation I had with Dr. Jonathan F. Bassett where we discussed symbolic immortality, which Dr. Robert Jay Lifton talks about in his book The Broken Connection. This is the idea that people try to live on through the connection to others or things we create. During the conversation I had with Dr. Bassett, we discussed two of the five modes it can take, the first we discussed was being more creative. The best example was the Acropolis itself, being something grandiose and something lasting; even if we don’t know who constructed it, the fact that the site is still standing offers itself to the idea of symbolic immortality, meaning the accomplishments of man still matter thousands of years in the future.
I find myself falling into the second mode of symbolic immortality that me and Dr. Bassett discussed; the more biosocial side, as it fits my goals. It is more modest, where your life’s impact is based on the influence and support you give to those around you—living on through the ideas passed on and trying to perpetuate your impact through improving the lives of those around you. This is where my goals will hopefully lead me, as I try to make others' lives better by giving them support and assistance through therapy.
Not only did this make me feel more secure in the path I have chosen for myself, but it also helped me understand why some might feel overwhelmed and lost in life, not knowing where to go, which has and will allow me to relate to those feelings. This has allowed me to push myself even further academically, trying to accomplish my goals of becoming a therapist and offering that support.
I believe the biggest impact of this on me was from my personal perspective on life. During my reflection of my time in Greece, the experience mentioned and the semester had helped me realize I can do big things for myself that might feel small in the moment but build to massive achievements. It’s this idea and reassurance which helps me push myself past comfortably, and through these actions, put myself on the same level as those who have done monumental things in the past by achieving my own symbolic immortality.
Willow Beshers is a senior psychology major who studied abroad in Rhodes, Greece for fall 2025, they are expected to graduate in spring 2026. Their plans after graduation are to go to graduate school for clinical counseling to hopefully gain the title of Licensed Practicing Counselor.