Definition of Freedom

What is freedom? There are hundreds of different definitions, because everyone has different opinions. My definition of freedom is simple: to be able to choose what I want to do, or to be able to do what I like. I’m pretty sure this kind of freedom is rarely seen in Asian families, because the Asian mom is often equivalent to an emperor, and the children are like the servants. The children has to do everything the emperor mom says, because according to her, the children should be grateful that she went through 9 months of tediously painful pregnancy, and 10 hours of unbearable birth just to give life to them. Because the emperor mom suffered a tremendous amount of pain, the children are naturally confined to their mothers, their job is to do what she says, and complete their filial duty. In other words, most Asian children are born with handcuffs. My kind of freedom doesn’t exist in my home either. One of the most recent (and typical) examples I can think of is The Choosing of Sports Teams. My mom was pretty resolute in wanting me to join the swimming team, but I wanted to join the basketball team, because, quite simply, I hate swimming and love basketball. We spent hours arguing about this, although it wasn’t really arguing, because arguing means to persuade or influence another person by presenting reasons. Our “arguing” was basically my mom shouting at me, and ignoring whatever that comes out of my mouth. In the end, I went to swimming team, and dreaded every practice I had. I hope that in some point of my life, I will be able to practice my freedom, and be temporarily freed of my handcuffs.