The mindset of the new generation. These are the tips that have been heard by older generations. Live for today. Carpe Diem, “seize the day”. Today, this phrase should occupy an important place in society; many people want to live every day as if it were their last on Earth. What I mean is that people want to experience everything they can in their lifetime. Henry David Thoreau is an example of one of these people; however, he chose to document and say that what he assumed was the exact definition of carpe diem itself. Walden's publication confirmed why he is closely linked to this literary genre. However, for any author, you need to know their background and life to understand their works. Henry David Thoreau was born and lived most of his life in Concord, Massachusetts in 1817. After taking a leave of absence from his studies at Harvard, he was a teacher in the Concord public schools by 1837. Yet he resigned a few weeks later for not inflicting corporal punishment on his students. He continued to work at his brother John's grammar school a year later. However, John died in Henry's arms in 1842 from tetanus. Thoreau returned to Concord and became a protégé of his longtime mentor and neighbor Ralph Waldo Emerson, a New England transcendentalist, who was a father figure to Thoreau; he pushed him to have his essays published. Emerson even let Thoreau build a small cabin on his Walden Pond property in 1845. It was there that Thoreau documented his history in Walden. In the excerpt titled “Where I Lived and Why I Lived,” Thoreau expressed his transcendentalist views and opinions. He explained why he lived like this, leading a simple life and being happy is plausible, and this life...... middle of paper ......ting. In Emerson's Walden Pond, Thoreau wrote to Walden and expressed his views on life and how we can be content; we just need to slow down and appreciate the gifts of life. Because his experience at Walden always stayed with him, Thoreau always looked to nature to help him discover the meaning of life. Although he died quite young, Thoreau's desire to see and do as much as possible benefited him. He saw and did a lot during his life and his work inspired other influential people. This is what Thoreau aimed for; inspire people to think in special and unusual ways. Today, Walden can be considered a touchstone of the carpe diem genre. Thoreau manifested an important adage that is also a fact of life: no one tells you how to live life, you just let it take its course. It's carpe diem, and Thoreau is the definition..