Conte PAGE 8
Sophia Conte
Mrs. Livingston
English 11-F
31 October 2014
Trust Thyself
Beginning in New England, Transcendentalism was a literary and philosophical movement that consisted of intellectual people who emphasized the importance of the individual. Many transcendentalists, including Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, were devout in advocating change and believed in obtaining the unknowable nature of truth through the power of individualism to shape society. Likewise, transcendentalists encouraged individuals to "accept the place the divine providence has found for you" to bestow ways for one to connect with himself through nature (Emerson). Furthermore, transcendentalists opposed materialism and accentuated on spiritual truths that affirmed nonconformity and intuition.
My measurable challenge is intended to help secede from my norm of bitting my nails for a week by physically and mentally engaging myself in every activity or interaction. I constantly find myself simply going through the motions and "liv[ing] with such hurry and waste of life" (Thoreau).
I think my experiment correlates and supports transcendental principles by stressing the concept of pursuing change. Whenever I am nervously in a hurry, my natural inclination is to barbarously bite my finger nails to feel satisfying sensation of comfort cascading through my body. I aim to apply an significant amount of effort and dedication to resolve this regularly concern. Whenever I may find myself being lured into bitting my nails, I am hopeful that I will feel a stronger pull to overcome my temptation.
In my experiment I hope that I will complete it "to a great extent untried by me" (Thoreau). My main question and concern going into this experiment is will I return to the continual practice of biting my nails? Will I succeed my quest by triumphing over my "chosen common mode of living because [I] prefer it...