Transcendentalist Theory Of Perfection Research Paper
My greatest weakness is the fear that anything less than perfection is failure. No matter how many people tell us that “nobody’s perfect” or “just try your best” I cannot seem to wrap my head around those concepts because perfection is the ultimate achievement. Without perfection, there would be nothing to strive for, whether it be on a test or in life. Throughout my educational career, I have always had straight A’s and great test scores because of this idea of perfection being the highest degree of excellence which everyone in society attempts to attain. I believed in the false notion that perfection was the only thing to strive for. However, after reading the transcendentalist views of Emerson and Thoreau, it raised a thought-provoking
question: What is perfection? Who decides to what extent something must be done to obtain recognition? Why are there grading scales, SATs, and other means of “scoring” someone’s abilities? Society has forced these things upon us because humans naturally want to compare themselves among their peers and people compete to achieve dominance above the rest. This concept dismisses the ideals of living and doing as to how your own self views to live and to do. The world is not a place for competition, but rather a place for self-interest. Humans must strive for their own perfection rather than what society has imposed onto them. Even with this enlightenment I am still blind to focus on the pressures created by others who seek to judge who I am and what I do. I have only recently discovered this epiphany but for now am still ridged in my first perceived notion of perfection. Thus, I am cast with the scarlet letter “F” because an “F” is indeed the lowest grade you can receive on a test. I wear the letter to remind myself that with my reputation I have built of the years that an “F” is just a letter, literally. It is how I recover from failure that is most important.
question: What is perfection? Who decides to what extent something must be done to obtain recognition? Why are there grading scales, SATs, and other means of “scoring” someone’s abilities? Society has forced these things upon us because humans naturally want to compare themselves among their peers and people compete to achieve dominance above the rest. This concept dismisses the ideals of living and doing as to how your own self views to live and to do. The world is not a place for competition, but rather a place for self-interest. Humans must strive for their own perfection rather than what society has imposed onto them. Even with this enlightenment I am still blind to focus on the pressures created by others who seek to judge who I am and what I do. I have only recently discovered this epiphany but for now am still ridged in my first perceived notion of perfection. Thus, I am cast with the scarlet letter “F” because an “F” is indeed the lowest grade you can receive on a test. I wear the letter to remind myself that with my reputation I have built of the years that an “F” is just a letter, literally. It is how I recover from failure that is most important.