Walt Whitman’s song of myself teaches us that we should have hopeful and optimistic attitude towards the world and ourselves. Walt Whitman celebrates himself in the poem and hangs out with his soul. He explains how much he loves the world, especially nature. By considering a child’s question “What is the grass?” at the beginning of the poem, he realizes the ties the grass has to the people, nature, and the universe as a whole. He states his idea that every form of life on earth is equally wonderful in section 31 with the lines “I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars, and the pismire is equally perfect, and a grain of sand, and the egg of the wren…” Then he compares humans to other animals to point out how animals have a healthy attitude toward life with lines in section 32 “They do not sweat and whine about their condition, They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins, They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God, Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things, Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago, Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.”

I’ve graduated from a famous university in China, and work several years there. Four years ago, I moved to the U.S.A.. I made a very important decision right after I got here, which was to study for another degree at Baruch College. As an ESL student in this great college, I often have moments of self-doubt. Voice in my head tells me that I am not smart enough to get good grades, also not experienced and outstanding enough to get a good job. Gradually, I lack of confidence, fear and anxiety comes up. Walt Whitman’s poem encourages me a lot. He tells me that different types of people in life show their individual significance, and each contributes to comprise humanity as a whole. I should learn to celebrate myself as he does, love myself as he does, and find how wonderful I am as he does.