What does freedom mean to you?
Freedom isn’t a buzzword or a flag on a bumper sticker. It’s not just fireworks and barbecues. It’s not the illusion of choice sold to us by systems never built for all of us. For me, freedom is visceral something I had to fight for inch by inch, name by name, scar by scar.
As a transgender man, freedom started with survival. It was the right to exist without apology. To wake up in a body I could live in, not just endure. It’s having the power to say, “This is who I am.” It is reflected on my ID, my prescriptions, and the way I’m addressed by the world. I legally changed my name. I transitioned with hormones and surgery. Doing this helped me achieve the ability to define myself instead of being defined by others. That’s a freedom some people never get to taste, and one I don’t take lightly.
I come from West Virginia. It’s a place where the word freedom echoes loudest around gun safes. It resonates in hunting camps and alongside American flags. My grandfather was a cop. My family served in the military. Guns weren’t politics, they were just part of life. And I still believe in the right to own firearms. I believe in the right to protect yourself. This right is important, especially when the systems meant to protect you decide you’re not worth protecting. I believe in free speech, even when it’s messy. I believe that the Constitution wasn’t perfect. However, the ideals in it about liberty and justice for all are still worth chasing.
Freedom means being able to walk down the street without being seen as a threat or a target. It means my medical decisions are mine, not the government’s. It means I get to live out loud and still feel safe. It means art without censorship. Relationships without judgment. Life without someone else holding the reins.
And it means more than just me. True freedom means no one is left behind. It means immigrants, disabled people, queer folks, people of color, and the poor have the same rights. We all deserve the same chances and the same humanity. If your freedom depends on mine being taken away, then it was never freedom to start with.
Freedom, to me, is raw, radical, and unfinished. I’ll keep writing, speaking, and living until it becomes real for everyone.
