Perfection In Emerson's 'Self Reliance'

Perfection. It's more than just a universal truth. We believe in it. We crave it. We strive for it. It’s safe to say we basically breathe for it. But tell me, what is perfection? Each and every individual asked that question would have a greatly altered definition of their perception of perfection, ranging from personal appearance to success. It is a mere fact that depending on who you are, where you grew up, and what you're capable of, you are presented with different expectations on how you should live your life. You will always be expected to be the very best; to be perfect. It is quite understandable, even from an average person’s perspective, that along with being a well-known individual, certain expectations from the general public exist.
He writes,”There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide” (20-23). Envy is ignorance. With this, Emerson is saying if anyone is to envy their peers, they are ignorant. Those type of people are clueless to the real meaning of their own lives. In the case of Miley Cyrus, she does not envy other artists. She is exactly who she wants to be and she is not jealous of who the other artists are. No, she is not perfect, nor does she pretend to be; however, she is not ignorant. She knows exactly who she is. Imitation is suicide. Here, Emerson expresses, if someone attempts to imitate the actions or ideas of another, it's killing who they are. Emerson believes that each individual should be his or her own person, supporting the concept of individualism. Cyrus agrees that people should not pretend to be someone they are not, just like she had to pretend to be Hannah Montana. When one imitates someone else, he or she killing his or her own
While some are not so concerned about what they look like, others use it to express themselves and give people more insight on who they are. Cyrus shows an obsession with her appearance, claiming it defines who she is. In an interview “Up Close and Personal”, she says, “You will never see me with long hair again! My fiance [Liam Hemsworth] loves it. It’s so easy and I don’t need to wash it. It looks better grungy”.. While people may frown upon her hair being different from a typical hair style, she takes pride that she looks different from the majority of women her age. She loves the way she looks. Cyrus expresses passion for fashion, “leather basketball shorts today, yeahhhh mayyyyyne”(tweet). Cyrus shows her love for fashion and unique clothing that are far from the usual. Most would never consider putting on leather basketball shorts. She is confident, not caring about anyone’s opinion about her fashion choices. She wears her clothes with pride and shows her excitement. In addition, She shows her nonconformity with the use of social media. On “Interview on Sunday Night”, Cyrus explains, “I don’t have an Instagram”. Most celebrities tend to make accounts on all types of social media to update people on what they are doing every second of every day. Uniquely, Miley Cyrus decided that she wanted to keep that part of her life private, not feeling the need to join Instagram as most other celebrities do. In