A transcendentalist must be completely comfortable with who they truly are. They are not afraid to show the world their individuality, and they embrace it. A perfect example of a modern day transcendentalist is Ellen Degeneres. Ellen is a young woman with a well-known reputation. Everyone knows Ellen as a lesbian; and depending on someone's view, her ways may be considered gross or intolerable. There truly are people in this world who do not agree with Ellen's life choice and they believe that Ellen’s decision to be a lesbian is unacceptable.
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| Ellen and Portia- People Magazine |
Despite these heartbreaking opinions, Ellen embraces her unique quality. She opened up to millions of television viewers in a 1997 Oprah show. Some were shocked, and automatically stopped watching Ellen’s show. In an interview with Stone Phillips from MSNBC, Ellen shared her feelings when she came out:
DeGeneres: "When I made the decision to come out, everything was great. And I really naively thought nobody's going to care, you know. It's like, I'm going to just now say, by the way, I'm gay. I mean, all of my business people, all my people, were saying, don’t do it, you know."
Phillips: "Is that right?"
DeGeneres: "Oh, yeah."
Phillips: "They were telling you, bad move?"
DeGeneres: "Oh, yeah. Don't do it. Don't do it."
Phillips: "But you just weren't going to listen to them?"
DeGeneres: "I couldn't listen to them. I had to listen to me. You know? It's my life. It's my heart. It's my soul. It's my journey. And it's who I am."
The above statement is a definite act of transcendentalism. It takes so much courage to admit something so fragile about oneself, especially with the fear that some people might not accept what is revealed. Ellen took that risk because she realized that it is her life and she is going to live it the way she wants to. She took this leap with the fear that people may stop watching her show; and many people did just that. Ellen stayed true to herself, and to her wife, Portia De Rossi. Ellen has openly expressed her feelings towards Portia through photos, interviews, and television. It is actions like this that prove her to be a true transcendentalist. She is who she is and is not afraid of others judging her.
Reference:
Phillips, Stone. "Catching up with Ellen DeGeneres - Dateline NBC - Newsmakers - Msnbc.com." Msnbc.com - Breaking News, Science and Tech News, World News, US News, Local News- Msnbc.com. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6430100/ns/dateline_nbc-newsmakers/t/catching-ellen-degeneres/>.
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