American poet/ essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson urges the reader to
fulfill the grueling task of "being yourself" in a conformist society.
He does so by inciting the mentality of a child, looking within, and standing
tall in the face of ridicule, in his essay "On Self-Reliance".
It is important to reflect upon people’s
inner self rather than the physical appearance. In society people, are
incessantly bombarded with information and instinctively conform to it. They
lose touch with who they really are. Because of this, Emerson advises man keeps
their “mind being whole, their eye is as yet unconquered.” People need to take
a step back and look at the bigger picture: what are their innermost truest
desires and intention. Keep a firm mindset on your personal needs and the
lifestyle to a long, healthy, happy life will open.
Many acknowledge that standing apart from the crowd isn’t exactly
easy – not everyone wants to be the elephant in the room. Emerson calls for
people to embrace their differences rather than repress them. It is known that
people who decide to go against societies standards and challenge them, receive
harsh criticism “For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure.
And therefore a man must know how to estimate a sour face.” Where there is a
will there is a way, and some lose sight of this common truth – that people who
go against what is normal are seen as “weird” and are criticized harshly. But
Emerson warns of this and shines light on a common truth that many forget which
is key to progressing and developing as an individual. The world’s most famous
people have learned to estimate a sour face, and serve as an example of Emerson’s
ideas at work.
Children are tiny geniuses. This is because children achieve what
many spend their whole life scared of doing: being different. The behavior of
children do not adapt to societies ideas and standards “Infancy conforms to
nobody: all conform to it.” To keep a simple, clear mind allows people to find
the key to a genuine state of happiness. Ignoring what others expect others to
do make one stand out from the crowd in a positive way, and it is a trend that
Emerson strongly believes in. Great minds and leaders acquire this kind of
attribute and go on to start revolutionary movements.
In the end, everyone is human and cannot simply just go out one
day and go against the social norm. Emerson can be a stepping stone to achieving
such a difficult task. It can be therapeutic as well. There is so much
potential and subtance in this essay, and it is unfair to
pigeonhole it as an essay that simply tells you to “be yourself”.
