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There are no important quotes from my essay; it sucks, not to mention I'm sure at least 5 other people are going to use this exact same picture

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Transcendentalism teaches people to become self-reliant and be functioning members of society by emphasizing connection to nature and themselves for answers on how to live life.

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Transcendentalism teaches people to become self-reliant and be functioning members of society by emphasizing connection to nature and themselves for answers on how to live life.

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9

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In retrospect, I suppose it is kind of stupid, but it's meant to show beauty and longing and disappointment, and to have "Space Song" playing in the background

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A loser, a nerd, a try hard, and a know-it-all
My delusions of grandeur are not tempered by heated slander
But my resolve to try starts to fall
“What are you compensating for?”
I didn’t know there was a problem with giving everything my all
Stacks of theory books; a past author’s strife
To see if I could still make something of my life
I experiment with effort, for myself I abhor
A year wasted, in my own life a bystander
My future virtually destroyed, And I, to change, lack the wherewithal
Wasted potential, lacks effort, issues with punctuality
Surely I cannot live like this forever
Spinoza, Thoreau, Diogenes, to argue that life exists “necessarily”
While academia becomes more forgiving
A chance to change my mind and my future, thought not easily
My desires in turmoil, my plans shaky at best
But this, this Life! I can try anything before I am laid to rest
Afforded another chance to live a life worth living
Full effort, no reservations, to achieve what I endeavour
And I cannot afford to not live deliberately
It would be the last mistake I make

4

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The song is about realizing that you have to live life to the fullest, and learning it through the death of a close friend

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Modern-Day Transcendentalism: Long Live the Queen

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Modern-Day Transcendentalism: Long Live the Queen

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5

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I went to a concert at the Shell with hundreds of other classical music appreciators and with a group of friends, but went for my personal enjoyment/experience

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6

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Being outside makes me more connected with nature, and reading someone else's words connects me to a greater network of ideas.

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7c

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I play piano because it centers me and brings me joy- part of the human desire to create beauty and express ourselves.

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7b

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I went on a hike in solitude and found a ring of rocks that someone else had made- demonstrates human connectivity in relation to an individual

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7a

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In the post-industrialized nightmare landscape that we have inherited, it is hard to connect with nature; it is a trial to escape even for a day the imposed responsibilities that are begotten of living in this society, and it kills the soul.
8

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Art and music are both expressions of beauty

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That the powerful play goes on, and that I may contribute a verse

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That the powerful play goes on, and that I may contribute a verse

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In my life, I would that I live deliberately, talking in archaic language in my own self-indulgence, and dressing however fits my fancy. In abstract, I endeavor to seek beauty and hope and excitement, to live deliberately and be uncompromising to societal standards of what I should be doing. More concretely, I wish to devote my life to music, to the endless pursuit of knowledge and truth, and in both, increasing the extent to which people access and appreciate it. A full life would be that spent entrenched in beauty of mine own appreciation, and in helping others see beauty, too. It wounds my soul to see people letting their life live without them.
3

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The boys in the cave, seeking that which is beautiful and exciting about life, remind me that I can seek to live deliberately, even reading poetry alone.

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2B

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This moving poem by Walt Whitman is meant to inspire and change the reader. It talks of viewing the futility of the world around us, and asks if there is anything of value in it. Then, the response: the value is in life itself. For me, this poem reminds me to live, and to not judge too harshly those who exist in a state of self-imposed mediocrity-- for even if they do not realize their potential at any point, there is value and beauty in that they lived. The final lines, "that the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse," inspire me to be deliberate in my life, and choose paths that lead to personal revelation and joy, rather than unnecessary convention. The movie The Dead Poets Society has a similar impact; the film inspires me to gather my rosebuds while I may, if you will, and not waste my life with someone else's expectations. It fills me with raw emotion, ranging from utter contempt for Neil's parents and the school board, to abject joy at seeing the boys attempt self-actualized lives. I relate to a number of the characters, perhaps mostly Charlie Dalton and Neil Perry. I wish very badly it were me.
2A

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An ideal life would be living alone surrounded by nature, oblivious to strife, save for occasional insects.

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“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

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“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

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1