"Self-Reliance"

Notes on “Self-Reliance”: I thought that the essay “Self-Reliance” by Emerson was about people being individuals. I think that Self Reliance means use your own thoughts, don’t let people control you, don’t let others people change the way you are. We should trust ourselves and make ourselves stronger. But the thing is many people don’t know now to be themselves and they need to learn that…People should just follow their hearts and their thoughts. The topics that I thought that were important: *Sees a connection between personal and universal *Developing yourselves *Dangers of conformity *Self-heart and prayer *Minds being whole *Self- Reliance is its aversion *Trusting one-self I thought that each of these topics were important because they were the ones that stood out too me when I was ready. One example I thought that related to “Developing Yourselves” was “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. — 'Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.' — Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.” I thought that meant that it’s okay to be different then everyone and is okay to be misunderstood with things that happen or that you do in life… Just remember that you’re different then everyone but at the same time you are the same. This is one of the quotes that stood out to me the most.