I thought I knew what freedom was, until I saw the core of it

When I was 15,
I had my first taste of freedom
as I concert-toured and sang my way through Australia that summer.
My first break from a toxic environment that I’d been stuck in for the longest time.
Even though it was just a short-lived summer,
it was the happiest time of my life, for a very long time.

When I was 17,
I moved to the US on my own.
I’ve finally fulfilled my long-awaited escape, a safe hideaway far away.
It was a new chapter, a liberation. I felt freed.

When I was 21,
I glared at the digits of my first pay cheque from my first real job.
That tangible vision of sustainable financial independency was delicious.
My sense of freedom expanded into a whole new scope.

When I was 26,
I quitted my job and flew to Bueno Aires with a one-way ticket and a backpack,
Few months down the line,
I found myself sitting in a 6-hour bus ride en route to the Andes,
I stared at the gleaming Chilean Pacific coast
as I was heading to a place I learnt about just a day ago.
I found myself smiling to my heart uncompromisingly,
just because.

It was at that moment,
I realized it was the first time in my life I’ve experienced true freedom.
It was such a shocking, bittersweet but delightful revelation.
I supposed it was a by-product of discovering and testing the essence of following your heart,
day after day, as I backpacked through South America.

And I was never the same again.
Everything changed when I found this new and powerful strength.
Something I never realized I lacked inside of me.

I thought I knew what freedom was before.
I thought I’ve had it and even felt it physically before.
But then I guess sometimes trivial milestones in life could be disguised as true freedom,
even though they were just one of those fleeting things.

True freedom is one of those things that
you can only earn on your own terms and pace,
like knowledge, muscles, or love.
It is a power that only you can find for yourself.
Once you’ve found it, no one can ever take it away from you.

Words & Image by Ruby Chu
www.rubychu.com
@maybethere

Equipment: Canon Sureshot A1
Film stock : Fujifilm Xtra 800
Location: Miami, Florida, USA
Ruby Chu