self reliance (continued)

We as human beings are such jealous people. We are always comparing ourselves to others, and never satisfied. We are never pretty enough, wealthy enough, or intellegent enough. Emerson however says that these thoughts do not do any good. We instead should use what we have, because no one else has the exact combination of skills and talents that you do. Use it to your advantage. At bishops, i feel like we are pressured into being a certian kind of person. We all cant be the perfect A+ student who is going to go to harvord and become a doctor. I personally would like to become an elementary School teacher. I feel that by becoming a teacher is the best way for my to use the skills that i have. This is being self relaint. to be able to use my own skills to contribute to a society.

Nature

I went to a dark, grassy, park. I was there right after the sun set so it was sort of blue and there was no one there. I sat on a blanket, and had my starbucks hot chocolate with me. I found my mind wandering between school, friends, and all different aspects of my life. I could not help but to worry about things going on in my life. Then i was worrying because i was worrying!!! Then i put my head down and looked at the clouds and thought about God. God is a huge part of my life. I felt it was the perfect oppertunity to reflect on my thoughts and how those relate to my religion. Emerson states, that through nature you can find the perfect harmony between the divine and what is on earth. I found that it was much easier to reflect on my religion when in nature. Towards the end however, i found myself thinking about my homework and how i should get back home to finish it. so then i left=)

friendship experiment=/

So on saturday, i set out to be the very best emersonian friend o could be. My goal was to be very honest, be myself, and not have too many expectations of my friends. I spent most of my day at my dance studio with my dance friends. I have always found it to be very easy for me to be myself with them, so i was myself. I also dont have very many expectations for them. When i tried to be honest i found that sometimes i was too honest and a little rude, so by the end i was keeping my opinions to myself. Then i went to formal. At formal, i made it a point for me to be myself and do things for me, not just because of the expiriment but also so i could have fun. So i was very myself at formal. I did find it hard to not have expectations for my friends though. I expected them not to ditch me and to dance and also have fun. However, i found myself dissappointed. I was also not sucessful in being honest. I didnt tell my friend the honest truth about something because I thought it would hurt her. I guess that is exactly what emerson is saying not to do.
I think this was a very interesting experiment to perform, and i hope to become a more emersonian friend.

Gifts

According to emerson, Gifts should be given and reveived without too much value on the actual gift. The receiver should not like the gift more than the act of giving the gift. He also says that today in society you are expected to give gifts, and if we give a gift only out of fufilling that expectaion than the gift wasnt given for the proper reason. Also, the kinds of gifts that should be given are ones that the receiver actually needs. For example, if the receiver is a homeless person who needs food, why would you give them a book. Yes, it is a gift, but does is have any significance. Also, the gift a giver gives should come from their skills. In other words, gifts have to have real meaning. For example, a diamond bracelet is a nice gift, but it has no actual meaning. It is given with the assumption that it has meaning, but it really doesnt. The giver and receiver assume that it means love or adoration, but what if the giver actually gave love and adoration. That would mean so much more. In this age, material things are so valued that material things like this are wanted all around. But Emerson has a problem with this. Why do we have to be so caught up in material things that have no meaning!
I dont know when i gave the best emersonian gift. I guess it was when my friend was really having a hard time and she needed a friend, so i picked her up from her house and we went to the beach and got lunch. It was really fun and she needed a friend at that time.

Self Reliance

According to emerson, Self reliance is being able to hold your own opinion, and utilize it to contribute to a society. He suggests that you form your own opinion about things, and stick to them them and not conform to the opinions of others. You should not try to change the opinions of others. This was tested in our last elections. I felt that people who had different political opinions would argue with me and try to convince me that my opinion was wrong. There is no right and wrong opinion, and everybody has the right to form their own.