Comments on "Ideal Self" & "American Scholar" Essays

Hey guys, I completely forgot to comment on everyone’s “Self-Ideal” blogs, so I’m going to include those comments with this week’s “American Scholar” blog comments.

Daniel,
I completely enjoyed your culture essay. In my opinion, it was more interesting to read that the American scholar essay. You and I share common viewpoints on diversity defining American culture. I like how you point out that Americans often relate their culture to their location in which they live, North, South, East, and West. This is a point I hadn’t thought of but it is so true!

“In America, we all have the chance to fund the life that Emerson would probably say we should want/strive for. But the “young minds” in America want more than to just live quant lives. The plethora of luxuries that we have at our fingertips, along with the chance to up our monetary rank though capitalism, has forced many Americans into the hands of greed.” I also agree with you on this point, that greed has corrupted many opportunities Americans have been given, such as dirty politicians. I think it is because of this selfish nature that we want to write our own story as well, because we have become ignorant of past values and teachings bestowed to us.

After reading you “Self-Ideal” essay, I want to encourage you that you are not alone in feeling “lost.” I think most people our age are poised with the questions “who are we” and “what do we want to do with our lives?” Some people have a sense of direction, but that direction can always change.

Emerson helped to concrete my thoughts as well, moreso in a sense of describing myself, the positive stuff and the negative crap. You and I share the same trait of having “trapped minds” so to say. However, you encouraged me in saying “I have to embrace these thoughts and use them to my advantage.” I especially liked your point on silence, “the silence lets us preach to ourselves and come up with our own opinions, which allow us to be individuals” because this is what I struggle most with, forming my own opinion and then voicing it. You helped me that silence can be a positive thing, and an individual’s silence can define them as an individual.
I want to encourage you that it is ok to not know who you are or where you are going, because life is a journey, and as long as you have something to search for, you will keep going, moving ahead, and learning more every day.

Kara,
I think you hit the nail on the head in describing Emerson’s “oak and flower pot” ideology in your “American Scholar” essay. Emerson’s writing is full of encouragement and one of the things he expresses is to never hold back an idea, because you never know when it will benefit not only you, but also society. I agree that we should keep an open mind and never shun an idea, however, we also need to be strong in our own beliefs so as to not be easily persuaded by a differing principle.

I think you did a very good job writing your “Self-Ideal” essay in a clear and easy to read format. It was easy to ascertain your stance on your ideal self and how you view self-reliance. I think all the traits you list are attractive and becoming, and because I’ve known you for 6 years, I want you to know that you truly do possess all of these traits: love, kindness, pride, passion, strength, and especially loyalty and self-reliance. I say especially to the last two because you have never let me down in our six years of friendship, you have always lived up to your promises and been a true friend to me. You are absolutely self-reliant because it seems like you are always helping me with my problems and I can lean on you for anything, but you never ask for anything in return. I think you are more of your ideal self than you realize.

I feel the same way about hearing the word self-reliant, and immediately thinking of someone who has endured hardships in life, such as a child who has grown up on the streets, or as you stated, someone who has been let down in the past. I do think that a truly self-reliant person may feel the need to prove their self-reliance to others, primarily if they have been let down, like when you hear people who feel defeated say, “watch out world, here I come!” I think it’s accurate to say most people sometimes know themselves the best, however I can think of a few people who claim and actually do you me better than I do, and they are the ones I can go to for advice with issues in my life.

Christina,
I think you have a very good sense of your ideal self, and you also have a very good understanding of Emerson. Your quote “Keep jumping to test if I can fly and moving on when I find that I fall” is very uplifting and can be a reminder to anyone to simply test your limits, and try again if you encounter failure. One of Emerson’s main points was to never hold back, because you learn from your mistakes or society benefits from your ideas. You use a lot of images to relay your ideas, which display your extreme talent for writing and your ability to communicate your idea to the reader. I particularly like your statement on Emerson’s “zigzag ship” because ambition is key in living life, but spontaneity is also important because a ship firmly stuck on course will never experience life’s little gifts or lessons.
Emerson may have described “imitation is suicide” but he also said to keep an open mind, and your painter illustration is a perfect example showing how an individual can benefit not only from keeping an open mind, but also how another individual can benefit from someone who is not afraid to expresses themselves.

I think out of our group, you know yourself the best, and your words can be lessons to us all. You have inspired me to also be the one who wears neon high boots, whether they are popular or not, and to run from a situation that is personally displeasing, instead of lingering around and trying to please, which is a personal weakness of mine. Thanks girl. ☺

In your “American Scholar” essay, you describe Emerson’s “Man-thinking” down to a tee and I applaud you for that. I too, had a hard time understanding nature and reading, but I think Emerson’s main point was that we can learn through nature, and nature in return can be a teacher. Nature is as mysterious as it is simple, and in uncovering this mystery, we also uncover the simplicity. For example, trees grow from roots, and leaves grow on trees. Once we learn how to determine and “classify” simple things like this from nature, things in life become easier to unearth. This is the same idea in your statement “books with the purpose of education should be a bit more mysterious. If books weren’t so matter-of-fact, I would be able to conclude my own conclusions before finding the right answers, instead of using memorization and repetition.” The more mysterious things are, the more we desire to study and learn from these things, and in return, we are able to draw our own conclusions and define them for ourselves.

I admire your stance to be your own American scholar. It goes back to Emerson’s point in “Self-Reliance” to have an open mind and “steer far from expectations and societies judgment of what’s ‘right now’” while holding true to your own ideas and instilling your self-trust.