Freedom: What does it mean to be free?

All of us are granted of what we call "freedom".We are free to express ourselves, choose our own religion, or even decide what we want to do in our life. We basically have the ability to act according to our own will.

Freedom is being supported by legal laws [Bill of Rights], yet, humans are still craving for more. But now, do well really know the real meaning of freedom?

In an educational platform called "Quipper", it defined freedom as

"the power or right to act, speak, or think as you want without hindrance or restraint.". 

Along with freedom, another word was described: Prudence

"an act of making good judgment that allows a person to avoid risks.". 

Therefore, we have freedom saying that we can do whatever we want, yet we have to be prudent for us to avoid causing any harm from our own decisions. This simply means that every decision we make comes with a consequence.

Then our decision-making is being challenged. Everything we do, big or small, is made from a decision. Let us have a common example of decision-making. Humans eat every day, and you have the freedom to eat all of the chips that you can find, or enjoy a feast of french fries from your favorite fast food chain and even drink a liter of coke in a day. You also have the freedom to eat your own balanced meal, drink enough glasses of water and do a regular workout. Thinking about it, these two choices have different consequences. The first one can just give you empty calories and full of fats and eventually make you ill, and the second one can make your body healthy and fit.

It is also up to you if you're going to wake up early or not; take a shower or just wash your face; eat regularly or skip your breakfast. A decision as simple as that can already affect your whole life. What much more if we have to make bigger decisions for our future? Such as to finish our work or slack off for a while; and engage in pre-marital sex or stick with no sex until marriage.

We have parents setting a curfew, schools making a long list of rules and regulations, and kids busy shouting for freedom. Where is freedom if our security is at stake? We have to consider that there is no such thing as absolute freedom. If we are aiming for a peaceful community, restrictions must be made.

We also have the freedom to express oneself, but that doesn't mean that we can already abuse it and offend someone with it. When we have freedom, we have the power to do it.

What does it mean to be free? It means being responsible and prudent in every action we make.

As we enjoy our freedom in this world, we also have to keep this line in mind.

With great power comes great responsibility.

 -Spiderman