week 8

“Insist on yourself; never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life’s cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another you have only an extemporaneous half possession. That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him.” (Emerson) I think what Emerson meant in his reading is that we should “do our own thing in life.” What I got from Emerson’s reading is that we should do what we believe is right no matter the circumstances. I agree with this because we make our own decisions in life and the decisions we make, we tend to think that they are the right decisions. He also mentions self confidence. How the choices we make, we need to make them with confidence. I understand this because we shouldn’t decide on a decision without being confident in it. It makes sense because I wouldn’t make a decision if i wasn;t confident in it. Most humans often follow others instead of doing his/ her own thing. I think doing your own thing builds your own identity. I think following others and what they do, it can be difficult for one to try and understand who they are as a person.

What I got from Emerson’s reading is we should accept ourselves and trust the decisions we make. I believe that we should accept ourselves for who we are as a person. I believe that we are still trying to decide who we want to be in life and how we will get there.