Walker Riley "Liminality"

In the book Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture, it talks about the idea of liminality. Basically, this is the state of being "in between." It can be a stage of transformation in life, moving from one part to another. It's easy to relate to this idea being a college student, because it perfectly describes the state people like me are in. We are not yet fully adults, but we certainly aren't kids anymore either. When we all left high school and entered college, we entered a time where we are preparing for the real world and we are separated from the world we are used to knowing. This perfectly relates liminality and the stage of being in between.

In the book, it relates the idea to pilgrimage in religion a lot, which is also another good example of the term. When missionaries, for example, go on their mission trips, they completely leave the world they once lived in without any contact to the outside world. They are in search for a new existence, such as a transformation of some sort. While they are away on their trips, they are in the midst of liminality, being in between the old world they are used to, and the new world where they are transformed and a different, better person.

Both of these are different, yet good examples of liminality. I think pretty much everybody in the world can relate to the idea at some point in their lives, and it exists within everybody all over the world.