Why My Voice Is Important

Jason DiLoreto
American Literature
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature 58). Who have you decided to be? Anyone? No one? Most people don 't realize that we have that choice. So, who have you decided to be? When thinking about that, don 't just settle for the least you can be. Think big, dream big, it’s our choice to be who we want, why not do it?
The word destiny has a definite deposition to the allusive meaning; all people interpret different understandings from this term. Some believe that we have set destinies and others believe we are set on a path that cannot be changed and every action we make just continues our path until it is complete. “Every path but your own is the path of fate. Keep on your own track, then.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden 7). We all have separate paths that will intertwine with each other’s and every intertwining path changes each other’s. Each person you interact with changes the way actions will take place in their lives. For every person I meet, I myself become friends with, or get close to, changes and create a new destiny for the people I interact with. I hold the power to change people lives even in the slightest. I feel this is a major contribution to how people live their lives and how much of an importance and a difference I am able to make in the world. People’s actions and words can dictate the relationships that we have. Those relationships are what builds us as a person and allows for us to show our importance. Showing self-interest and telling ourselves things like my voice is important, eventually starts to make us believe in ourselves.
“To be great is to be misunderstood.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). He says misunderstood people are ahead of their time and I completely agree with this statement. There are an immense amount of people who were mistaken as unwise and incompetent and when they created something that was so dissonant to their originality, people were astonished, Albert Einstein for example.
There are people all over the world throughout history who display as great examples of people not believing in them, and they kept telling themselves that they are important and can make a difference. George Washington, the First President of the United States was unable to spell throughout his life and his grammar usage was very poor. His brother had one said, “That perhaps surveying in the backwoods might be an appropriate career for young George.” He ended up being president and one of the greatest leaders of all time. Or even Vincent Van Gogh, the Painter, he was scorned, neglected and even ridiculed during in his lifetime, his example now acts as a dominant starting point for a lot of aspiring artists. The saying, “No man ever followed his genius til it misled him.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden) goes along perfectly with any of these famous history writers. In the quote the word genius, as Thoreau used it, does not mean intelligence like you would think. In Transcendentalist terms, genius refers to the voice within, an inner guide that will always direct one along the right path. When you follow your genius, you are acting as an individual and not conforming to society 's norms seeing how we contain a different voice. “Everyone who wills can hear the inner voice. It is within everyone.” (Mohandas Gandhi). Gandhi was one of the utmost leaders of all time; he showed great eminence because he was able to recognize how significant the inner voice can be with time. When you follow your inner guide and have strong faith in what you believe in then prominence will result. The inner voice or otherwise known as the subconscious is much more powerful than one would think. “Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious.” (Thomas Edison). Your intuition and subconscious mind are important personal tools for navigating throughout the journey of your life, if we have a negative attitude towards life and keep telling ourselves that we are pointless; then a difference in life and in the world will never succumb. Many people believe that they don’t have what it takes to make an alteration in the world. They believe only people like Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, and the likes, are capable of making a difference. But truth is we all make a difference even if it isn’t on a global scale. Showing compassion and respect for those we care about is enough to make a difference in our own personal worlds.
If we continue to let fear of success knock down our doors and tell our voices that it is nugatory, then expect nothing prominent than inadequacy of your achievements.

Works Cited
[Emerson, Ralph. "Ralph Waldo Emerson." goodreads. Goodreads Inc , n.d. Web. 28 Jan 2013.]
[Thoraeu, Henry. "Henry David Thoreau ." goodreads. Goodreads Inc, n.d. Web. 28 Jan 2013.]
[Mahatma, Gandhi. "You Must Be The Change." Your Inner voice. yourinnervoice.com, n.d. Web. 28 Jan 2013.]
[Edison, Thomas. "How to Use Your Subconscious to Change Your Life." thechangeblog. the change blog, 15 1 2013. Web. 28 Jan 2013.]

Cited: [Emerson, Ralph. "Ralph Waldo Emerson." goodreads. Goodreads Inc , n.d. Web. 28 Jan 2013.] [Thoraeu, Henry. "Henry David Thoreau ." goodreads. Goodreads Inc, n.d. Web. 28 Jan 2013.] [Mahatma, Gandhi. "You Must Be The Change." Your Inner voice. yourinnervoice.com, n.d. Web. 28 Jan 2013.] [Edison, Thomas. "How to Use Your Subconscious to Change Your Life." thechangeblog. the change blog, 15 1 2013. Web. 28 Jan 2013.]