Human trafficking

What Does Freedom mean to you?

When I was a child, freedom meant staying up later on the weekends when I didn’t have school. Being out with my friends riding bikes. Picking the routes we wanted to ride, instead of someone else. Going to my friend’s house and raiding their refrigerator that was packed with more junk than mine.

In high school freedom meant choosing the classes I wanted to instead of having it the other way around. Bringing out of my own soul my thoughts on independence. Beginning to show other humans what I was designed for. Being able to pick and choose which boys I wanted to choose as a boyfriend. Making choices about friendships I wanted to have.

When I was given the keys to my own car, I had the freedom to make good choices and keep the privileges of driving or making bad choices and paying the price. I could choose to stay up past my bedtime and do bad in class or go to bed on time and give the classes all I had.

As a young adult, I had the choice to have children or not. To marry or stay single. For most of us, we could decide whether we wanted to make our first time having sex our choice.

Now that I am middle-aged, my choices seem to be taken a way from me. Or is it that I am more mature and see more of what the world is today. I still have the choice to speak my mind, but do I really? Could what I say end up on a public forum such as Facebook and be banned?

I still have the choice to vote equally as a man. Is my vote sacred and safe? I don’t know the answer to that. I hear so much in the media about tampering that I suspect the only truth I will ever know is buried deep in my heart.

I still have the choice to be healthy or unhealthy. Do I really? When is the last time you went to the grocery store and tried to buy all organic or healthy foods? Did you notice the hole in your pocket when you went to pay for them? Have you noticed that foods that are good for you are considered premium prices? It is much cheaper to eat junk food, but harder on the heart.

We still have the choice and freedom to pick our doctors, hospitals and insurances. But, do we really? Can you see it ending as others voices ring louder than our own? Will there come a time that we actually have to give up our insurance because of the premiums or pre-existing conditions?

I do still have freedoms that can not be taken away. They are my choices to make. I can breathe. I can pray. I can look at each day as a new day with the right attitude. I am free in this land. Free to be myself. It is only from our soul that the corners are being pried off little by little, like taking a band-aid off very slowly so it doesn’t hurt so bad.

We are guaranteed some rights to live on this earth. I only hope that all countries work together to keep our freedoms alive. That peace is among each of our neighbors. We are truly blessed when we look deep down into the ground. You see some dirt covering the seeds, but life is beneath it, growing and strong. Ready to unite together to help us to remain free.