Self Reliance

Self Reliance The definition of self reliance is: “reliance on one's own powers and resources rather than those of others”. Self Reliance can mean a lot of different things to different people. Ralph Waldo Emerson describes self reliance as being yourself, being unique, and having your own opinion. Being a self reliant is not something that is easy. It can be very challenging. Self reliance is an important skill to have. In Emerson’s “Self Reliance” we are taught to trust ourselves. Sometimes we let society tell us who we should be and we depend on what everyone else is doing around us. “Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world” (Emerson). This quote means that if you free yourself from yourself than you will be able to enjoy the world. Sometimes we let ourselves bring us down instead of other people, just because we are scared of being judged. Another quote from Emerson that I find important is “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion” (Emerson).This quote means that is easy to follow what others are doing. We live in a world where everyone finds the need to be anyone but themselves. We follow other people example, and try to play it safe. What Emerson is trying to say that it is a lot easier to be a conformist instead of an individual, but being an individual is so much more rewarding in life. It is extremely difficult to be an individual in today’s society. With all of the social media it is hard to have your own voice and not be judged. I feel that trying to be a teenager nowadays is really hard because we can’t be our own individuals, but we are trying to figure out who we are in this world and where we belong. It is important to be an individual in today’s society because there are so many negative things that we are surrounded with like drugs, alcohol, self harm, and many other things. We need to be able to say no and have a voice, instead of following our peers. You can get really hurt today with all