Emily Dickinson's The Soul Selects Her Own Society

In the poem “The Soul Selects Her Own Society”, Emily Dickinson explains what is presumably her own experience, as she shut herself out from the world in self isolation, and at the same time only letting in a few close friends. Throughout the poem she explains that she has no desire to be a part of the majority, but would rather be detached from society and the social pressures and instead into her own creative isolation. She further discloses her stubbornness to the reader by saying even an Emperor would kneel to her and beg her to join the community—representing a role reversal. However, the message of completely isolating myself from society does not intrigue me, but instead the message Emily conveys of sticking by your beliefs, no matter what society says and allowing yourself to embrace a society that fits your personality best is what

The fact that Emily could shut out the pressures of society and stick to her own beliefs is what I admire the most about the way she writes her poems. I began my 4th grade year with confidence, keeping in mind I did not care whatsoever about my appearance, I did what I wanted, acted how I wanted, and dressed how I wanted. However, as the years progressed and middle school was just approaching, I found myself becoming increasingly concerned with my appearance and personality. My friends grew out their hair and bought expensive clothes, therefore I grew out my bangs into the luscious locks I have today and began shopping where everyone else shopped. Not only did I look different, but I acted differently too. Instead of being my loud and confident self, I forced myself to be quiet and conservative, so I would say only what my friends wanted to hear. Still to this day I recognize myself conforming to the community and the “social norms”. Emily Dickinson bluntly puts it in one of her other poems, “I Am Nobody”, and states that it’s boring to be a part