Never Grow, By Ralph Waldo Emerson

As a young athlete, the most efficient method to learn what it takes to compete at the next level is watching players at the next level. If a young athlete begins comparing their game to that of a college or professional athlete, the athlete can discover flaws in their game; therefore, the skill of observation can tremendously improve their game. However, physical ability and repetition are not the only components that result in a successful athlete. A coach could be the deciding factor in an athletes failure or success. Also, the way athletes carry themselves, what they display across their face, their attitude, and most importantly, their mindset all tremendously impacts the performance of athletes.

Through excellent metaphors, Emerson stresses that you must first trust yourself to achieve greatness from your own genius, to realize your potential, and to be self-reliant. Your inner genius, when tapped into, allows you to build self-reliance. Some people might argue that you only need to depend on yourself. If you are totally self-reliant you’re going to have a narrow perspective because you can only pull from your own life experiences or from your own family’s or community’s involvement. However, I am arguing that Emerson uses strong metaphors to show that even with a belief in individualism and self-reliance, one must also trust other sources such as society and God.

I became diffident and lost the confidence I once cultivated from being a driven athlete. I was distraught without soccer in my life, having to find other outlets to relieve stress and sadness. I learned how to give up control and came to terms with my life expunged of soccer. I found new friends, joined new clubs, and had more time to myself, becoming propitiated with my new world. From this failure, I was able to develop and grow as a person without external pressures guiding me. I was exposed to new experiences and new ideas that I would’ve had never encountered playing

For generations, mankind has talked of peace. It’s a subject that seemingly everyone wants, but no one can achieve. How is this? A common goal that cannot be achieved seems like a foreign idea, but as of now, it is reality. Could it be because it’s much easier to say than to accomplish? Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” This means that as the absence of light cannot help guide one journey through darkness, we cannot expect to continue to spread hate and, in turn, obtain peace. Humans as a whole should all pitch in to this goal of treating others well because everyone can use love, it is never clear what all someone is going through,

Civil disobedience this is how the internet defines it “The refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest”. The word explains it all disobeying in a Civil way. Many people have became famous for this for standing up for what they think is right. For example, Rosa Parks refusing to sit in the back of the bus, you can say that’s an act of civil disobedience she didn’t think it was right for her to sit in the back of the bus after a long day she disobeyed a law at that time but then we have a group of dumb people that think every law is wrong and its an act of civil disobedience. An example for this civil disobedience would be, people not obeying small laws like speeding, not paying taxes, small laws that to them they seem not right or not hurting anyone when broken. Maybe civil disobed

In the article “Playing With Pain” by Michelle Crouch, published by Scholastic SCOPE, in December 2015 and January 2016, is about how when you specialize in one sport, you put a lot pressure on yourself to do well and be the best you can be, but some consequences can be life changing.

This team went on to be the American representatives at the 1936 Olympics in Germany. But, their prior experience with rowing was truly unique: a large portion of the men had no rowing experience prior to their tryouts. The initiative these men took when trying to go into this situation demonstrates how individuals can be successful in growing their interests and personal improvements without having previously mastered an activity. In my own life, I have experienced similar growth in a sport I had no prior skills in: archery. When I first attempted archery, the results were not hopeful for an aspiring archer; however, I was eventually able to improve my attempts. As a result of taking on something beyond my ordinary talents, I was able to grow my spectrum of interests in sports and add diversity to my life. In certain instances, there is a purpose for remaining in comfortable circumstances; however, these settings can also hinder individuals' potential for growth. Instead, experimenting in unknown areas can further a growth in self-improvement. By utilizing the process of experimenting, as suggested by famed Emerson, society will be able to gain a unified

Author Ralph Waldo Emerson once sad " Unless you try something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow". On past experiences in my life I would agree with Emerson because one will never truly master something but people everyday have said people have mastered a sport or a instrument but everyday that person practices on that one thing all the time. Look at some great sports players like Messi or Stephen Curry both are spectacular at what they do. Messi was looked at by many people when he was young at not able to play due to how short and small he was. He started to practice on end to help him get to a point where a small soccer team picked him up and play for them at this point he wasn't done so he got even better and now competes with some of the other worlds best

It can be inferred from Emerson that the adversity that he so deeply describes throughout his speech could be man’s eternal struggle to discover his own self-reliance and experience real-world connections instead of just reading about them and not fully understanding or even comprehending the meaning of what is being read. Ralph Waldo Emerson separates society into two groups known as “Man Thinking” ( Emerson 2) who has allowed himself to be open to new ways of life and understanding and “Mere thinkers” (Emerson 2) who simply follow the trends and patterns society without any thought of their own. He believes the Mere thinkers are inevitable lost in adversity and do not fully understand transcendentalist ideas. Nevertheless, it will never be too late to find self-reliance and contribute an opinion to the world thus diversifying society.

In fact, in one of his pieces "Self Reliance," Emerson indicates, "A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the luster of the firmament of bards and sages." This quote demonstrates that man should learn to go after their instinct and not ignore their thoughts. By appreciating Emerson's knowledge, students will learn to trust their instincts. Students who doubt their instincts should trust that "If [they] advance confidently in the direction of [their] dreams, and endeavors to live the life which [they have] imagined, [they] will meet with a success unexpected in common hour," and believe, that if they follow their dreams and instinct they will be successful (Thoreau). Students should fight for what they believe in order to accomplish their dreams. By utilizing Thoreau and Emerson's intelligence in life, people will start to believe more in their own intuition.

In my life of sports, there were many challenges, and the biggest challenge is to work hard in practice. This is a good life skill because a hard day of practice teaches you work ethic and time management as a skill after high school. Learning any sport takes patience, whether it be waiting on the pitch in baseball, sitting in the classroom learning plays in football, or weighting long enough for the pole to bend before you swing and turn to go over the bar after planting your pole in the pit.

Pele, a world famous soccer player, once said, “Success is not an accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what your doing.” Pele represents how one can be successful by putting blood, sweat, and tears into something even when the whole world is against you. Inside Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” he talks about the need to avoid conformity and be a leader in one’s own life and follow personal ideas and instincts. Lone Survivor represents the need for hard work and strong will power to stay alive and trust your heart. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” and Peter Berg’s “Lone Survivor” both prove that having the will to succeed and trusting in your conscience and heart grants individuals

Someone who goes beyond what he or she has mastered is able to figure out what he or she is best at. Someone is able to figure this out by learning various techniques and putting all the different techniques to use. He or she is then able to figure out which method he or she prefers, along with what he or she feels the best at. In math, there are various ways to solve a problem. Students learn more than one way so they all can feel comfortable when solving the problem. This helps the students figure out which method they prefer and what they are best at. By figuring out which method they are best at, the students are able to fully grow as an individual. As a transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson was an avid speaker of the importance of the individual. This belief affected many of his quotes, books, and ideals in life. He believed that in order for someone to fully grow, he or she needed to try to do something beyond what he or she has mastered. To fully develop as an individual, someone has to learn more about he or she has mastered. Ralph Waldo Emerson believed this ideal so much that he broke off from society and lived in the woods for some time in order to find his individuality. He practiced what he preached by trying something

In both passages, the speakers hint that every day is a new beginning and that people should live each day to the fullest. Poet Henry David Thoreau wrote, “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life…” (Line 2) Word such as “live deep” and “suck the marrow out of life” prove that each day should be spent well. Thoreau also wanted to make the most out of his life with nothing to regret. Each day was a new experience for him and he wanted those experienced to be worthwhile. Similarly, Archie Brubaker described, “For those few moments we are unformed, but creatures more in tune with a tree than a keyboard. We are untitled, unnamed, natural, suspended between was and will be…” (Line 3) Archie indicates that every day is a new day

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow" Ralph Waldo Emerson. From my perspective, the meaning behind these words is what drives humanity towards improvement. As a junior in high school, I see no better time than now to live by these words. As college slowly rises upon the horizon, I envision a bright future at Greeneville tech.