freedom

At heart, everyone has freedom; it doesn't matter what kind of situation you're in, you always have the option of trying to do something. Sure, there're constantly thousands of forces pushing and pulling you to go in different directions, but ultimately, it's your choice to try to do what you want. (I'm not saying that success is necessarily part of this equation, mind you -- there's still the issue of reality to deal with.)

Aside from the obvious presence of reality, freedom becomes a question of what your values are; here's my first and only pop reference that I'm putting into this commentary: In The Devil Wears Prada, Anne Hathaway insists to Meryl Streep that she would never stab a friend in the back, after Meryl Streep's character gives part of the magazine (or something along those lines) to not-the-person-she-said-she-would in order to save her job. Meryl's reply is that Anne Hathaway had already done that by taking the place of someone too sick to make the trip. Anne's character stutters a little, trying to fight it and say that it was necessary or else, but in the end, she still quits and walks out of the limo after realizing what she'd done. /end pop reference.

Metaphorical reassertion: If you value your job, you'll let your job take your freedoms away. If you value your social life, you won't let your job take your freedoms away, etc. etc. Freedom is something that exists in everyone, to do -- or not do -- what you want, but the caveat is how you will be effected by that choice.

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