As a kid I grew up in a Seventh Day Adventist church. My parents taught me about God, and about what is good and evil, but unlike Richard’s grandmother, I haven’t been raised like a robot. Over time I have developed my own ideas and belief as an individual. I haven’t just taken what my parents told me, and kept it with me. Unlike Richard’s grandmother, I don’t just follow the commands that my parents have taught me. I have searched my own answers by my self. Because I have developed religiously as an individual, I like to think of my self as a Romantic.

The major idea that I connect to the Romantics is the fact that they believe in “the inner essence of the individual” (Adventure in American Literature 122). This is the belief that the way to figure out most of the knowledge is by finding it yourself. I connect to this idea because I think that the only way to find your religious side is by having an individual relationship with God. I believe on this because I think that every one has a different point of view. This means that just because I have the same religion as someone else, I’m not going to have the same an idea as them. I also like this idea because I don’t like to believe everything that I am told. Some people might not know what they are talking about or they are lying. In the other hand, if I seek religion by my self I will know what is right, and what is wrong. Like the Romantics, I also think that society has a use. I like to use society when I don’t understand something. Even though there are lots of people who don’t know what they are talking about, there are also people who have a lot of knowledge that could be helpful for me. The only way to tell the difference between someone who knows the truth and someone that doesn’t know what they are talking about is by studding the Bible as an individual. I like to think that the Bible is a guide to tell the bad from the good, and this brings me to one of the only connections I have with the Puritan beliefs. The Puritans believed that God was a higher power, the fact that I believe that the Bible is a guide makes it even more clear that I believe that God is a higher power. All the multiple writers that wrote the Bible were able to do so only with God’s help. God as a higher power guided them to write the truth. Since God is a higher power he can’t just start talking to us, he can’t just tell us himself what is wrong and what is right. Since he can’t talk to us, he left us a guide, and that guide is the Bible. In order to know the truth we have to have an understanding of his guide, that way we know what we are doing.

The Transcendentalist have many ideas that are similar to the Romantic ideas, and some of those ideas are also similar to what I believe. I believe that God has a special place for all of us, he doesn’t have only a few chosen ones, but you are the one to decide to do good or evil in order to go to heaven. In order to be one of the saved ones you need to really want the salvation. If you have a true interest is something, that’s the only way that you could pursue that object. “To comprehend a nectar Requires sorest need” (Adventure in American Literature 325). What this means to me is that you need to have the need of salvation to pursue it. This connects to one’s every day life. You only work hard for the things that you truly need and want. This is similar to the American dream. The only reason people come to America is because they truly need and want something. They are ready to do all it takes to get that dream. People don’t come to America thinking that the American dream is only for a few chosen ones, they come to America thinking that as long as they work hard they will achieve their dreams. This is the same as the belief that salvation is for everyone. God created everyone, not only a few people. If he wanted only a few to be saved he would only create them. God didn’t select just a few to go to heaven, we can all go depending on the things we do.
Another belief that I have in common with the Transcendentalist is that the way to gain knowledge is to “test… philosophy in experience” (Adventure in American Literature 230). I think this is also one of the most important ideas. The best way to get close to God is by making mistakes and sinning. You always will learn from the bad things, and the bad experiences you have, but you can never learn from being perfect. This doesn’t mean that you should sin in purpose, this means that you don’t have to worry about sinning. The Puritans believed that you couldn’t sin at all, and if you did you would be punished for it. I think that this is an impossible thing to do. In the beginning of time we were perfect, but once we disobeyed god, sin came into our lives. Once this happened, sin became part of us. We were no longer perfect, we were no longer innocent, and the product of sin is death. The only reason why we are not dead is because God gave his only son so that we could stay alive. This means that we no longer die because of sin. Once we sin, all we have to do is asking for forgiveness, but ask for it truly. If you are truly sorry, god will forgive you.

Another Transcendentalist that I think is important is Emily Dickinson. One of the ideas that I like about her is one that is in her poem “Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church”. The line that hit me the most is when she wrote “some keep the Sabbath going to church- I keep it, staying at home” (Adventure in American Literature 234). What it truly means to keep the Sabbath is to not only going to church; it’s about living what you believe. Going to church is not enough. You can go to church only on Saturdays, but what about the other days. You could steal, kill, and do all kind of bad things. Then the next Saturday you once again go to church and follow something that you don’t believe. Then there is no point on going to church. You are no seeking salvation; all you are doing is seeking a relief of guiltiness. All you are trying to do is feel better about the bad things you are currently doing. This will only bring a temporally satisfaction. The only way to be truly happy is having God in your life. This quote also connects to being an individual. There are different ways that can take you to salvation. Not every one has to make the same things in order to gain salvation. People have different talents, and those talents could be used to seek what you want.

Seeking spiritual knowledge could be a challenging objective. It’s important to seek this knowledge as an individual, but being part of a society an also be helpful. Finding this spiritual knowledge will make you find salvation, but in order to gain that salvation you need to make multiple things. Actions are not enough, you live what you believe.