How Do I Know I’m Free? Essay, Research Paper

How do I know I’m free? Well, in the country today, we don’t have near as many freedoms as we would like. Most of the freedoms that were originally written in the Declaration of Independence have been distorted from their original purpose. Take freedom of speech, for one. These days you can’t just go around and say what you want, when you want. Yes, a lot of our freedoms come with responsibilities, but there is no excuse for prosecuting a person for exercising their rights. But there are times when I do feel completely free from all the rules of society.

One would be when I’m up on the slopes, snowboarding. There I’m not worrying about weather or not I’m going to pass the test tomorrow, or if I’m going to break my little toe if I hit a tree. When I’m up there I go to my happy place, in a way. I’m no longer aware of anything that is going on outside of that ski area, and I don’t really care either. The only thing I’m thinking about when I go up, is the song that I get stuck in my head before I leave. Before I go up to the ski area, I like to crank up some speed metal and get a really fast and heavy song stuck in my head, it really helps me get the adrenaline rush going.

Another time when I’ve felt the most free was this last summer on the days of July 8-10, when Kail, Nick, Derick, and I went to a Metallica concert in Denver. It wasn’t just when we were at the concert itself, although that was the time when I’ve never felt so free and alive, but the whole trip was like getting away from all the laws which control my life every day. Even though those rules were still in effect, they just didn’t matter, because we were all in our own little world those days. The ideals that govern our society, and the way we should “behave” in public no longer had any meaning to us.

Another time when I feel most free is when I’m playing my guitar. Cranking up my amp, and grind away on that thing for a few hours is one the best ways for me to go into my own world without leaving this town. I turn on these black lights and a strobe light on the computer screen, and make like I’m putting on my own concert in my room. It’s great, get up and jump off my bed, desk, and chairs. I mean, I’m not vary good, but it’s still some of the most fun I can ever have in this town. Until about two weeks ago, when I blew my amp out. I’m so bummed on that. So, I have to wait a few weeks, and save up my pay so I can get a new one.

Here is one that is strange, but I also feel vary free if I’m playing video games. I don’t play them near as much I used to play them, but it is an awesome escape from reality, and a really good way to relieve stress. A lot of people these days say violent games corrupt our kids, but for me when I play them I can let off more stress in five minutes than I could if I just sat down and talked about it with someone. Especially if the problem has made me so filled with rage that most words I speak would be a four-letter word. Then, there are times when I play them just to get a good story. Games like Final Fantasy have awesome story lines. And it would usually take about 40 hours to beat the game. So it is a great way to escape from reality for an extended amount of time.

So, I feel that in the world we live in today, everyone is walking on eggshells to make sure they don’t offend someone or say something that might get them in trouble. So in this world freedom can never truly exist. Rather it is mentally, or physically, true freedom doesn’t exist. But there are times when people can find away to feel like laws, being politically correct, or just being straight up polite just no longer matters to them, because they are in a state of mind where they are truly free.