In my English class we are studying poetry and literature from the 1800's.  This era of writing or entertainment is know as the Romantics or Transcendentalist stage of literature.  Following the 1700's which was strictly rationalists.  It was a very important stage in the history of literature because it kind of started the idea of using you imagination and creativity in writing.  One of the many very popular Transcendentalists was named Ralph Waldo Emerson.  He really introduced the romantics era and helped "revolt" in a way against being serious and factual all the time.  He wrote using many aphorisms, which are lines in writing that could have multiple meanings but teach a moral or lesson.  There are many aphorisms in the passage "Self Reliance".  One of my favorites would be "Be not like dumb driven cattle, be the hero in the strife."  I feel like the lesson behind those lines would be to be your own person.  Do not be conformed by others opinion of you.  Be your own person, if that means don't answer questions that you don't deem necessary to answer, then don't.  If that means not doing what the majority or crowd is doing, the don't.  It's a very common concept and many people know about it, but I feel like it applies to my life a lot.  I like the meaning of those lines and I can relate to them the most out of all the aphorisms in his writing.

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