It is difficult to be an individual with the constant input from peers, family members, and society. Allowing these inputs to dictate one's life, one sacrifices the life that could be made as an individual. It is through repetition, symbols, and imagery that Mary Oliver expresses the difficulties that result from the speaker having to establish her own life out of a world constructed by others in order to capture life as an individual. 

Throughout the poem, the speaker is torn between the life constructed for her by her peers, family members, and society and an individualistic life constructed out of her own decisions and desires in life. She feels restricted by the voices surrounding her saying "though the whole house / began to tremble /and you felt the old tug / at your ankles" (lines 6 – 9). In these lines, the speaker uses imagery to get a first glimpse of the hardships she will face by deciding to break free and become an individual. The "house" (6) symbolizes the speaker's comfort zone, which consists of the input from others. The speaker had been comfortable with the people surrounding her building a life for her, instead of allowing herself to make her own decisions and create a life of her own. The "old tug" (8) is the influence of the people surrounding her which holds her back from experiencing life as an individual. The concept of the voices holding the speaker back is repeated later on with "the wind" (8) that ". . . pried / with its stiff fingers / at the very foundations" (14 – 16) through  the use of imagery. The speaker uses repetition to emphasize the strength of the force that impedes her individual growth and the difficulty of growing beyond the influence of her peers, family members, and society. This prepares the reader for the speaker’s  departure, allowing the reader to better appreciate the speaker’s determination to forge her own path in life; the “tug” of her surroundings reveal the conviction with which the speaker decides to pursue her own path in life and the importance that the author places on individualism. 

The journey towards individuality is never smooth; it is filled with unforeseen obstacles, trials, and tribulations. The road is "full of fallen / branches and stones" (20 - 21) making the journey difficult and unpredictable. The speaker uses the images of broken tree limbs to describe the obstacles that come with the journey to individuality.  Although the journey has obstacles, trials, and tribulations, the speaker uses repetition of the word "determined" (32 - 33) to reiterate the speaker’s need to grow as an individual and show that she is determined to develop. She continues to reveal the trials, taking note of the peers and family members that ask for help to "‘Mend my life!’" (10). The speaker ". . . didn't stop" (13) for those who cried for help, because of her determination. In order to grow as an individual, the speaker must make hard decisions that benefit herself and continue down the path she walks alone. 

The speaker's journey to individuality begins to take a turn. "But little by little, / as you left their voices behind," (22 - 23) reveals the day by day transition from a life constructed by others to a new life of individuality, which becomes smoother and easier. This excerpt also acknowledges the journey as just that - a journey. The process is not and cannot be accomplished overnight, but the speaker, clinging to her belief in the importance and potential of her own life, relentlessly establishes her right to make her own decisions. Continuing on her journey, the speaker recalls "the stars" (24) which ". . . began to burn / through the sheets of clouds," (24 – 25) using the stars to symbolize the light that leads the path towards the end of the journey to individuality. 

Throughout the poem the speaker is unsure about leaving behind the voices that helped her get through life. Repeatedly, the speaker remembers the voices she left behind which "kept shouting" (3) at her, but she prevented herself from turning back around to live the life constructed for her by her peers, family members, and society. Finally, the only voice that the speaker hears is her own

and there was a new voice,

which you slowly 

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper

into the world (26 – 31)

as she realizes her voice is strong enough to be heard. The speaker’s voice helps her make her own decisions, believe in her own advice, and grow into the young person she strives to become. She realizes that as she matured throughout her life, her individuality could only come from the voice from within. This voice is now her pathway to individuality, the source of her decision making, and the force that will allow her to save her own life from being subdued by others and from being subjected to a hollow destiny.
