Friendship

Being an Emersonian friend is a tough task. I have yet to meet a person who is truly an Emersonian friend 100 percent of the time. The reaction of the general public would be "resisted, and all men [would] agree he [is] mad". Here are some quotes from Emerson's "Friendship" essay that I thought I would give a go. 1. "A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud." Being a friend is always being honest. Not even white lies are allowed to spare others' feelings. 2. "We parry and fend the approach of our fellow man by compliments, by gossip, by amusements, by affairs. We cover up our thought from him under a hundred folds." Not only can you not lie, but casual "filler" conversation is not permitted. If what your saying is not important, don't say it and you won't be hiding from putting yourself out there. 3. "The other element of friendship is tenderness." This comes down to being kind. If you are a true friend, you simply are tender towards your friends. But remember: it must be with sincerity.
So, basically, throughout my day as an Emersonian friend, not much changed. I started out by telling myself to be honest and try not to talk so much. It was really hard. Many situations arose where it was super akward. For example, on my way to a class, I tried not to make conservation with the people who I was walking with, as those kinds of conversations are "filler" speech. If I were the person I was talking with, I would think of myself as rude. Emerson's concept of friendship is idealist. I think it's impossible to be an Emersonian friend to everyone. For me this experiment felt forced. I've decided that I like those "filler" conversations and I am for the most part an honest person. Emerson suggests that we always be deep with others, but I think there is just as much of a need for entertainment and lightheartedness. This is what I love about my life: I can act like a complete idiot around my friends and feel alright about it. So...Emerson has a point, but if everyone was an Emersonian friend, I don't think the world would feel right. I think things the way they are.

Gifts

According to Emerson, "the only gift is a portion of thyself". He's saying that a gift you give must in some way reflect who you are. He describes all other gifts as cold and lifeless and "apologies for gifts". Emerson is disappointed that very often, people do give the kinds of give that are impersonal and don't mean anything, therefore those people give apologies and not gifts. The giver should not expect anything in return. Emerson makes it clear that he believes that people frequently give gifts to get something in return. Giving a gift should not have any hidden motives besides wanting to show that you care about the receiver of your gift. According to Emerson, the receiver should not thank the giver if they do not truly mean it. ("Do not flatter your benefactors.") Honesty is one of the values that Emerson finds most important.
The best "Emersonian" gift I have ever received was a clay pot from Kevin Osbourne on my thirteenth birthday. Kevin is one of my favorite people ever. He's a 52-year-old man who is a designer for construction projects. He's the only person I've ever seen who has a real life gray French moustache which he styles with hair gel. It's so legit you wouldn't ever believe it. His house is the coolest place I've ever been to. The residence is in complete isolation from anything else, surrounded by Senora desert landscape just outside Tucson, Arizona. It's one of those modern-style houses with one room. The thing I love best about it is it's decor. The modern architecture is completely contrasted with a collection of artifacts from all around Africa. The adobe walls add to the atmosphere. I first met at his house when my family and I went for dinner there, and he must have noticed how fascinated I was with the tribal masterpieces around the room. Fast forward two years. I'm having my thirteen birthday party dinner at the Macaroni Grill in Tucson. The guests consist of my parents, my cousins, aunts, and uncles, and Kevin. It's time to open the presents. I save Kevin's present for last and open all of the others. They consist of socks, a Lizzie McGuire purse, journals, and make-up. These are all what Emerson would consider apologies for gifts. My family didn't give me personal gifts that represented themselves, but objects that they would think a thirteen-year-old would enjoy. When I got to Kevin's present, I noticed the nervous look on his face. I read his lips as he whispered to my dad, "I'm sorry David, I think I got her the wrong thing." I unwrapped and pulled out a clay pot and a book entitled "African Faces". The clay pot was 4,000 years old and was used to store water by a tribe somewhere in Africa. It was so cool! I beamed at Kevin and told him how much I loved it while the rest of my family remained puzzled. I felt like Kevin was giving me something to remind me of him, a piece of himself that was now in my possession. It was the best gift that anyone has ever given to me and a perfect example of an "Emersonian" gift.

Nature

This morning I woke up in rural Kernville, California and walked down to the riverside. I sat there for thirty minutes. (see picture)
It may seem random and quite convenient for this assignment that I was in such as place this weekend, but there is a very valid reason. I played guitar and sang for my cousin Michael Shawn's wedding. His fiancee Mikaela chose the peaceful location of Kernville, with a population of approximately 2,000 people. It was a really nice wedding with the ceremony right on the campgrounds by the Kern river. I felt very campfire-ish (in a good way) as a designated rock was chosen for me to sit on while I played for the ceremony outdoors. This is where I had my first Emerson-like reaction. Warning: this is going to sound phony. I was really nervous before the wedding about whether or not I was going to screw it up. I knew the music pretty well, but I had not spent as much time on it as I would've liked because as we all know, last week was a really busy week for school work. Yet as soon as I sat on my rock and started testing out the sound system, I felt more at ease with the sound of river pulsing behind me. It's what nature does to me, I guess. In case your wondering, I've been assured by my people that I didn't screw anything up. In fact, everything turned out just fine.
On to my experience with nature in solitude. The wedding was on Saturday, and I woke up at 9:00 this morning. I went to have a home-style breakfast at the lodge and then I told my parents I was going for a walk. "Don't get eaten by a bear." my dad joked. I first gave myself two rules: 1. Go where you feel more connected with nature and stay there. 2. Let your mind wander, but don't think about your school work (especially that AP Chem test on Wednesday). I came to a cool conclusion following the first rule. When I headed into the woods, I was immediately drawn to the river. I wondered why I thought I would feel more connected to nature there. I think the reason is instinctual, like survival of the fittest. I'm naturally drawn to the river because I subconsciously think that it will be a good water source for survival. So I finally found a rock close to the riverside where I could watch it flow for the remaining minutes. My mind drifted back to the summers of seventh and eighth grade when I went on the school rafting trip down the Kern River in the exact same region. I remembered how much fun it was and how different that time was from my current stressed-out state. It made me realize that nature is the best way to calm oneself down. I think that's why people build parks. Why did they leave space for Central Park in one of the most expensive real estate areas in the US? Parks simulate the calmness of nature, which is very much needed in the busy, crowded life of a New Yorker. Nature kind of lets you put your problems in the back of your mind for a moment and just stop to reflect. It was really nice to get the chance to do this.
This experience really changed one of my decisions. Prior to this, I had thought that I didn't want to go to college anywhere besides an urban area. Now I realize that a type of natural surrounding would be good for the sanity of my mind. I will now consider areas with nature that are in close proximity of urban areas, so I can have the calm and the excitement of both types of locations.

Self-Reliance

Emerson states that "Traveling is a fool's paradise." in his famous essay "Self-Reliance". This is what I think he means: if your life is troubled in your hometown, you cannot expect your troubles to disappear if you travel far away. It's the same thing for all kinds of different situations. A kid who doesn't like their school can't escape from their problems if they transfer schools. The reason is that wherever you go, your soul goes with you. No matter how much you ignore the past, it is still on your mind in some form or another. It is still part of you and it will manifest itself again in your supposed "new" life. I believe that certain parts of Emerson's beliefs on this topic to be true. I don't believe it in quite as much of an extreme. I believe that that kid could be happier at their new school and that it does function as sort of an escape. However, I do agree that one can never completely leave the past behind.
I can think of many examples of this from my life experience and movies. I don't recall the exact title of the movie, but I know that it was a cheesy chick flick with Hilary Duff. Anyway, in this movie, Hilary Duff's mom was a single woman who forced her family to move every year or so because she was running away from all her failed relationships. By doing this, she was constantly trying to escape from her mistakes. The problem, however, was not within the problems of each particular geographical location, but in her taste in guys. She was always dating the same type of guy that her daughter did not approve of. Taste in guys is part of your personality, which is not as easily changed as your town of residence.
Another example I can think of is from my life experience. Two summers ago, I had this really big crush on this guy from my life in San Diego. It wasn't working out so well, and therefore it wasn't the happiest time. I told myself that I would forget about him for a week at camp. I thought that camp could function as a sort of escape. As Emerson predicted, however, I couldn't completely leave it behind. My traveling just numbed the past, but did not erase it.
I believe that traveling enhances everyone's experience of life. When we travel different places, we learn about ourselves by observing similarities and differences of other cultures to our own. This way we can pick and choose what qualities we want in ourselves. However, I agree with Emerson in that it is impossible to leave yourself behind when you travel. Everywhere you go, you carry yourself with you. I believe that your soul grows and changes more and more, combining the past and the present of what you experience.