"I suffer whenever I see that common..." - Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson
I suffer whenever I see that common sight of a parent or senior imposing his opinion and way of thinking and being on a young soul to which they are totally unfit. Cannot we let people be themselves, and enjoy life in their own way? You are trying to make that man another you. One's enough.
More by Ralph Waldo Emerson
“A cheerful intelligent face is the end of culture, and success enough. For it indicates the purpose of Nature and wisdom attained.”
“So much of our time is spent in preparation, so much in routine, and so much in retrospect, that the amount of each person's genius is confined to a very few hours.”
“It makes a great difference in the force of a sentence, whether a man be behind it or no.”
More on Individuality
“Be Sure you Are Stepping to the Music you Hear - No Matter what Other People Think.”
“I have often been downcast, but never in despair; I regard our hiding as a dangerous adventure, romantic and interesting at the same time. In my diary I treat all the privations as amusing. I have made up my mind now to lead a different life from other girls and, later on, different from ordinary housewives. My start has been so very full of interest, and that is the sole reason why I have to laugh at the humorous side of the most dangerous moments.”
“I confess myself utterly at a loss in suggesting particular reforms in our ways of teaching. No discretion that can be lodged with a school-committee, with the overseers or visitors of an academy, of a college, can at all avail to reach these difficulties and perplexities, but they solve themselves when we leave institutions and address individuals.”
More on Parenting
“I wonder if anyone can ever succeed in making their children content.”
“You may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.”
“Never have more children than you have car windows.”