My definition to almost everything has changed during the course of life, so is the meaning of freedom.
When I was six years old, on a Sunday evening I succumbed myself to a procrastinated math homework while my neighborhood friends played outside. At that age, freedom to me was uninterrupted playing, screen time, non-defined schedules and routines.
I explored friendships and experimented varied behaviors and traits as a teenager, ultimately to fit into groups. During my college days in early 2000’s, many a times my family had snooped through my phone to ensure my pro-social track. Freedom to me at that stage was privacy and trust of my conscience.
Having secured a job in early adulthood, I enjoyed the freedom of independence and financial security. Upon marriage, I relocated to a new country where my meaning to freedom was redefined. I had the freedom to explore, experiment, learn and create a home of my own.
Life in the thirties is continuing to show me a different interpretation of freedom. Being family bound, all my actions and decisions are driven by emotions and responsibilities. Now I make a choice by shuffling the family card in my head a hundred times. I ponder over the impact of my actions on my family, the arrangements I could do to leave them in comfort in spite of being aware that it wouldn’t affect them. Today, what I lack, and look forward is the freedom from emotional ties.
The meaning of freedom may differ from person to person and constantly revise with their changing social, emotional, and economic circumstances. But do we ever achieve it? What does freedom mean to you? Do you have real freedom?
Out of curiosity, I asked my seven year old for her definition of freedom. She said, “There are two types of cats, pet and stray. Strays have freedom but pets do not, because they are controlled by their owners. ” That said, a word that connects freedom to all is Control.
