J-Girl was honored at school on Friday with an achievement award for writing. She is a prolific poet and lyricist. I'll find scraps of paper laying about the house, here and there. Careless cast-offs they seem to be. But they often hold the truest of gems, silly songs about her brother's face, heartfelt poems about friendship.
To my delight, she decided to be a part of the extracurricular school newspaper this year. I introduced myself to the advising teacher on that first day, and expressed my gratitude for her taking on this project again. (Last year was rumored to be a tough one and it was not certain that there would even be a school newspaper this year.) She told me that she was happy to have the opportunity to work with J-Girl, and that she'd already had the pleasure of reading some of her work because J-Girl's Language teacher had run over to share an essay on freedom with her. I pretended to know what she was talking about.
Later, I asked J-Girl about it and she casually said, "Oh, yeah. That's on my USB drive if you wanna read it..." Uh, YEAH!
I was going to save it to post on a fitting holiday, but really, freedom can and should be celebrated everyday. So without further adieu...
Freedom
By J-Girl
Freedom- n. the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical retraint.
The dictionary might be able to tell you what freedom is, but can anyone really tell you what it means?
Freedom has always been an important part of American history. The Revolutionary War was for freedom from England. The Civil War for the freedom of African-American slaves. These freedoms are what make the United States so different from other places.
Simply the thought of freedom is a happy thought. Most Americans take their freedom and rights for granted. We don't really know what it's like not to be able to speak your mind or be able to start your own business.
It is an echo, still loud and clear in our short history. Freedom is more valuable than any amount of gold or treasure. It is speaking your mind, doing as you please; a light breeze of ocean wind that calls so many into its open arms.
There is no true definition for freedom; everyone must find it for themselves. My definition, whatever you may think of it, is that freedom is a state of mind and being that includes much liberty and justice for the subject whom has been set or born free.
Congratulations, Sweetheart!!!
