“Does escaping guarantee freedom?”

Freedom is a concept that many of us have romanticized, but we’ve never experienced 100% freedom. Living in America, we learn about the First Amendment which established the freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition. In reality, though, we may never be free from the shackles of society. 

In high school, I’m surrounded by others like me who have barely scraped the surface of human life, yet we’re forced to work strenuous hours to complete the heavy workload of high school. Students walk around with dark eyebags hanging under their eyes and a cup of Celsius in one hand to stay awake. Although each student is unique, a common end goal ties us all together: graduation. Once we graduate from high school, we’re free from the weight and burden of maintaining that 4.0 GPA we worship or making extracurriculars that will allow us to be competitive when applying for colleges. However, are we really free? After high school, we face four years of college or even more. After that, many of us pursue a 9-to-5 job to chase the capitalistic needs of our society. This endless time loop from ages 22 to 65 is incredibly demanding and far too normalized. Our society holds a strong grasp on every one of our lives until we become old and unable to enjoy life in our youth, preventing us from experiencing true freedom.