The Truth and Emily Dickinson - Second Quarter Readings

In the second quarter of our American Literature class, we read a few poems by the renowned Emily Dickinson, and one in particular caught my attention: Tell all the Truth but Tell it slant.

I liked it because the poem's telling us that truth should be approached in a sort of indirect way, and at a gradual pace rather than to approach it directly and all at once because, as I interpret it, humans have a weak "perception" and truth is such a big thing to reveal and so if approached directly, we wouldn't be able to fully understand or even begin to fully comprehend it. In the same way, a slant truth is like to explaining what lightning is to a child to appease their fear; it's "kind" and can sometimes be a bit far-fetched. After all, when children ask where babies come from don't most adults tell them the overused story of having a stork deliver them to the waiting parents? It's far-fetched and it doesn't make sense - to an adult, that is. To a child however, the story is instilled in their minds until they are older enough to fully understand just where or how babies are made. 

Thus, Emily Dickinson's "Tell all the Truth but Tell it slant" is a poem that focuses mostly on "truth", and how it should be introduced in a gradual process and approached in an indirect way, because it's either too disturbing or deep for a simple man to understand. 

What is Success?

Oxford Dictionary defines success as an accomplishment of an aim or purpose, and that is true in many cases. In some cases, success is more of a feeling of accomplishment, like a sense of fulfillment. Success to some is finally being able to ride a bike without the training wheels, or it can be qualifying for the Olympics. or even getting an A for a test on a subject one's been struggling with for so many weeks.

To me, success is being able to achieve one's goal and the process of going through to achieve that is what is most important to him/her. It's quite like building a habit; you have to push yourself and force yourself to do that one habit so that it becomes one. If you want to train your dog, you can't just quit after one session when your dog sits. No, it doesn't work that way. You have to sacrifice your own time and effort, and keep training your dog until it becomes a habit. Or until he sits every time you command it to. 

Success is sacrifice; it's being able to appreciate every single sweat or tear made that got you to where you are now. For me, it was getting all As at my new school as a new student, and it took time and lots of effort to catch up with all the work but that is where I am now, and as I look back on it, it gives me a sense of fulfilment, and that is what success is to me.