Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone with Emerson

Normally, I am not at all a fan of classic American literature. I typically find it to be boring, and highly overrated, especially in novels such as To Kill a Mockingbird. As an assignment for my Reader's Choice class, I was told to read a book out of my comfort zone and I chose one that I had ordered as part of a lot on eBay that had been sitting in my house for months. This book seemed clearly out of my comfort zone, being that classic American literature bores me to no end, yet I read it; The work I read was Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self Reliance.

This text was something that actually amazed me, causing a juxtaposition on my view on literature and life in general. The work begins with Emerson staring at the stars, discussing the beauty of nature, something I find highly relatable. The next topic brought up was one that truly has drawn me in and enamored me; commodity. Emerson states how the thought of commodity has changed from when humans were hunters and gatherers, once valuing things needed to survive, such as water, instead of things that now hold monetary value such as gold. Emerson continues to discuss society in general and how overall, people are far too reliant on others and often feel a sense of entitlement due to this.  Being a right-winger, I personally view this as highly true when applied to a political landscape, overall, many are far too reliant on government programs, instead of going to their original roots and relying on one and their tools to survive and thrive. Lastly, Emerson discusses a theory of self-genius, where intelligence is determined about what one does well at, such as a gunsmith being a genius of firearms, which is another theory that intrigued me. Instead of the idiotic common core system of valuing one's intelligence based upon tests made by a private company, many people thrive in their own respects.

Thus, I am overjoyed to have had the privilege to read this work and I plan to read more Emerson in the future.