According to Emerson, “we live amid surfaces, and the true art of life is to skate well on them.” This workshop will be our attempt to skate well. We will discuss his essay “Self-Reliance” and its claim that we should construct and fashion our own unique lives. We will use it as a jumping off point for exploring ideas like authenticity, independence, and what it means to be the author of our own lives. We will also discuss ways to integrate these ideas into our everyday lives. Let’s put on our skates and get started!