The Land of the Free

Day 8: Freedom

Today we visited Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and saw The Great Comet of 1812. I loved visiting the Statue of Liberty. I actually spent most of the day not thinking of anything significant. Just blue skies and how beautiful everything is. I think I took a much needed brain break, and just hung out with my camera and all of my lovely travel companions.

To get ready for a day about Freedom, one of the things we read talked about how many of the world's geniusess were immigrants, how relocating changes one's thinking. I think there's a lot of freedom in changing location. I've found that thinking about life while being in a new city is so different than thinking about life while stuck in the same place. When I did the pre-trip readings and began trying to apply new ideas into the way I was living, it was hard just because I could make changes, but I couldn't see the bigger picture. I could see ways to make changes, but not the way I wanted my life to look like as a whole. I couldn't see the parts of my life to take a step back from and which parts to invest fully in. I'm so thankful for the freedom I have to be able to travel. To walk away and relocate with little consequence to myself or those around me. I change of scenery is sometimes just what is needed for a change in perspective.

When we went to Ellis Island and visited the immigration museum I thought about things a little differently than usual. When thinking about our country's history with immigration, how hard it was for immigrants, how people were treated, I usually kind of solemnly reflect on that hardship. Usually there's some sense of guilt. We have so much freedom today, I can't see quite how amazing it is because I don't know what it's like to be without the freedoms I've grown up with. But instead of feeling the pain of others I felt the hope of today. I felt a lot more connected to my Irish roots than usual. I could see my family line being one of those families relocating. How amazing is it that so many people paved the way for us to live here today. To be in the land of the free.

What am I bound to? So many rights. So much freedom. We have so much opportunity. Sometimes I think we create constraints for ourselves because we don't know what to do with such freedom. We have structured creativity exercises because it's easier to be creative within boundaries. You can't push the box if there's no box to push. What parts of my life do I create unneeded restraints? I don't necessarily do everything I want to. I don't always wear what I feel like wearing, say what I want to say, go where I want to go. I try to be myself. To be fiercely independent. To be honest. But maybe I still often just fall to the constraints of society. Maybe I don't take advantage of the full range of freedom handed to me. Sometimes I can't picture the person I'm going to be. I look at different models of people. The business woman, the humanitarian, the mother, the professor, the hippie, the conservative Christian, the fun loving consumer, the struggling artist. There's these molds that I don't want to be, but I also want to be all of them. I think the beauty in not having a clear vision for what my life will look like is that it can be unique. It doesn't have to have a mold. I just need to define the characteristics I want to develop and the values I want to live by. I just need to commit to the things I choose are important and stop living in the constraint of stereotypes. In New York I see so many people that belong because they are unlike anyone else I've ever seen. I think living in the same area my whole life causes me to be in a bubble. If you stray from the norm even a little bit people notice. People tell you you're unique. But being unique isn't synonymous with being yourself. This tangent isn't really going anywhere. I'm just thankful for freedom I guess, even past the basic freedom rights I've been given, the freedom I can give myself, and I hope that I can take better advantage of it in the future.

The Great Comet of 1812 was the most amazing Broadway play I have ever seen, and probably will ever see. The singing and dancing and lighting was all incredible. The stage was all over, not just a rectangle. There was a rave scene with strobe lights and everything neon. A fake broadway show within the broadway show. Where you got to see pieces of crazy modern dance and weird masks and watch what the characters of the play were watching. The singing was insane. Josh Groban played the main character Pierre and Denée Benton played the female lead, Natasha. The slower songs were hauntingly beautiful and everything upbeat had so much energy, I didn't even know where to look because amazing things were happening all over the stage. I would ten out of ten recommend.