According to vocabulary.com, freedom is defined as "the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints." This right here is the freedom I am talking about. Last week I wrote an article about mindsets and how we have the power to rule our minds, ultimately escaping the prisons we create ourselves. This freedom that I'm talking about is the freedom to decide who you truly want to be in life. This freedom is the clothes you put on your body every morning, looking at the reflection in the mirror and telling yourself that you are proud of how far you've come. This freedom is the self-awareness of your needs, of when you need a break from the hustle and bustle of life and taking it. This kind of freedom tastes like the sweetest and juiciest of fruits in the middle of a hot summer's day, we just have to reach out and take it.

A quote written by Jim Morrison reads;
"The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask. There can't be any large-scale revolution until there's a personal revolution, on an individual level. It's got to happen inside first."

This personal revolution is exactly what I am talking about. There's always going to be a constant battle between ourselves. It's going to be between our old selves, our present selves, the self that "everyone" else wants us to be, and lastly the self we truly want to be. My advice to you, ignore all the others and strive for the latter. We have the ability to become the person we truly desire to be. You're not always going to have the support from the ones you truly desire it from. You're not always going to be given encouragement. But knowing what you want, what you need rather, is what will help you get from point A to point B.

We see this denial of our freedom time and time again in our lives and others as well. Nelson Mandela couldn't have stated it any more accurately, "When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw." Reaching out and taking the freedom you desire is hard. You will have obstacles in your way. Detours. Delays. Even storms that cause damage, but one thing is for certain, if you're determined to obtain your freedom, even as an outlaw, you must endure each and every thing that comes your way, and you will without a doubt. If you have that determination of claiming your freedom and the mindset of not letting anything get in your way, not even yourself; you're already half-way there. Keep fighting for what and who you truly want to be and one day the hard work will pay off. You will have the freedom you've been yearning for. One day you will taste it, and my goodness is it glorious.