Background and Biography: 
Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in 1803 in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of 14, he attended Harvard and after graduating and teaching for a couple of years, he decided to attend Harvard Divinity School in 1852. He eventually got approval to preach but got ill which slowed his career progress. He later developed a strong belief in individualism which led him to resign from the ministry. He ended up writing many pieces, his most famous being ¨Self Reliance¨. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson ended up dying long ago in 1882 at the age of 78, however his beliefs are still studied and very relevant today. 

Beliefs About Nature: 

- Each individual should develop their own understanding of the universe

-Identifies nature as one of the components of the universe

- Encouraged people to find the spiritual underlying of nature 

-Believed that one can perceive nature through spiritual intuition

-Argues that nature can serve as a source of enlightenment and inspiration for individuals

Beliefs About Individualism: 

- Believed that individualism was a profound and unshakable trust  in one´s own intuition.

- Wrote ¨Self Reliance¨ which is a essay about the importance about trusting one´s own, individual intuition.

- Believes that individualism shapes leaders and makes people capable of greatness

- Thought that you should not listen to the opinion of others when it comes to you as an individual. 

- Emphasized that individualism can transform (and even save) society.