What is the meaning of Freedom?I hear Janice Joplin singing in my mind.I feel the defiance with which I have lived.
I know the price of freedom and the addictive quality of having and keeping it.
It is a wild streak within the Figueredo family...we are fiercely
independent.It is not always the best
trait to have.
On the other hand, it is wonderful to be free!I do what I want, when I want with whomever I
want. It feels pretty damn good!I chose
this too.When I was growing up and saw
the life many of my peers had ahead of them, I ran.I flew down to Miami the day after I graduated from high
school to avoid the marriage and children thing.Then the bohemian life set in and I haven't
left it since. It has been a great ride! Sometimes my life has been irresponsible,
sometimes lonely, but mostly adventurous and mainly happy.I am at peace with my decisions.
It is probably more of a burden on those around me who don't
really understand why I won't show up when I don't feel like company.Sometimes I choose to spend weekends in
solitude or vacation alone.Holidays are
usually a nuisance for me and I prefer to hang with old friends than relatives
most of the time.I pursue my projects
and interests completely absorbed and unaware of how time passes.It makes me forgetful and sometimes unaware
of other obligations.
I forgot to grow up.Many times I've stormed out of jobs, relationships and situations
without looking back with the maturity level of a three year old."I'm done!" I'd think and walk away without
really knowing what the outcome would be and then of course the repercussions
would come later.
Now is that freedom?Well, if you think of how some women live in oppressive societies then
yes.Even some orthodox groups in our
own country keep women from experiencing the joys of traveling or going out on
adventures as I have.Women don't always
get to truly discover who they are without being identified with a spouse, her
parents or children.
I always think of the Billie Holiday song "Ain't Nobody's
Business If I Do!"and "if I get the
notion to jump into the ocean, ain't no body's business if I do..." I believe it is a true anthem of freedom.
