Proud to Rebel

Am I a rebel?

I've spent my life doing what others told me to do. I had to follow certain unnecessary rules just because I was told they would be “good for me”, stubborn as I am, strong willed as I always was. Still, I never ceased to voice my opinion, no matter how unaccepted it was by others. But as always, for every strong willed girl, there’s a world of obstacles and limitations. There will always be those individuals who don’t like your spontaneous free spirit.  I've had religion used against me. People who preached God wanted to take what God himself gave to me. My free spirit. I've been pressured. I've had money used against me, like if you don’t do this or that I’m not paying for even the most fundamental things you need. Yet I still managed to weasel out whatever freedom I can thus far. 

But what makes me different from the next girl? What makes me different from the student next to me, or the parents who bore me? Because aren't we all pressured by life? The difference is that we’re all individuals with different mindsets and personalities, going about our lives in different ways. Problem is that there will always be those who want to pull you under a certain umbrella. They will generalize based on your gender, age, religion, race, nationality. And in some people’s eyes, you’re nothing but a demographic. A race. An age group. Your individuality becomes an unimportant factor in the choices you make because everything you choose to do should come off a list of approved decisions. This list goes through your culture, religion, your family and all loved ones, and of course society.  And it’s not surprising to find that after all that editing, the list becomes a distorted representation of who you are and what you want to do with your life.

My reflection on all this? Be a fighter. You will never be completely free, but you can at least fight for what you believe in. And I believe in freedom.  If that makes me a rebel, then so be it. I never asked for the impossible. I never realized why that put me at fault, but now I do. The problem is that I asked. Don’t ask for your God given rights. If you get called a rebel, then you say “hell yea” and move on.

Peace!