Freedom in All Its Shapes and Sizes

By Kia Matthews

Freedom, entitlement, privilege. The definition of the word is constantly changing, morphing into something bigger as we grow alongside it. As a child, freedom is getting to choose between a ham or a jam sandwich,that toy bear or monkey. Freedom in its simplest form, but still of considerable value to us in the moment. Life as a teenager: arguably the time when we want those privileges that adulthood has to offer, no longer bound by the rules set by our parents. The part of life where you figure out what you are like in a more expanded form than just sandwiches and monkeys. It is when the roots of one’s independence begins. Gone are the hand-me-downs of your older siblings or cousins and in with anything that just feels like you. 

It is a time in life often defined by rebellion, but a couple of words I think that often get neglected is exploration or curiosity.The freedom of a teenager includes the testing of limits and boundaries set by adults, but it is also the time when that desire to explore and discover could explode. Whether that be dyeing your hair a colour of bombastic choice or seeing what goes on in the world when you stay up past midnight. Curiosity exists throughout each stage of life, but one could argue it is as a teenager where freedom truly interlocks with uncovering what else there is in the world. From young to old that desire to explore and learn is continuous, expanding ever more as we get older.

When you reach adulthood, however, I find that curiosity is replaced by responsibility. That isn’t to say that it’s been stomped out of existence, but more so that the freedom of adulthood has the price of priorities that need to be paid. It now somewhat feels like a burden more than something that only induces excitement. Compared to each chapter of life up until this point, one way or another we got to experience freedom on an easy level. Now, it seems the freedom we experience comes with the type of independence where it is not just about choosing what we have for lunch or what poster to have on our bedroom wall.  Our new freedom is about choosing what it is we want to make of ourselves through how we dress, through how we speak to others, and how we show up for ourselves.

Perhaps one day came along that we all woke up with freedom. That one day, we rolled out of bed with the independence we all so desired in our younger years. One could buy a cake and slice it and eat it in whatever way they desire. In that regard, the freedom to do whatever you want is exciting and energising, but it can certainly be a scary thing too. I can buy this cake without my family questioning my thought process (but let’s be real, they will do that anyway), but I’ve gone from choosing what sandwich filling to have at lunch to needing to choose what to eat for three meals a day and to additionally prepare those meals as well.

Challenging no doubt, but simultaneously exciting because the creation of oneself continues, even if it means the dull responsibilities of our freedom require just a little bit more commitment. The greater the challenge, the greater the reward, no? The freedom of adulthood comes with a great long list of hurdles that we’d rather have our parents deal with for us, but it is with that freedom that we slowly but surely receive more of in our lifetime, that all these challenges tie into greater rewards.