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The Cost of Freedom It’s the way of nature, for youth to rebel. To express their independence through unique music, clothes, hair styles and language. Never realizing that in their rush to express their individuality they end up looking alike. The older generation knows this pattern well, for it’s a path they’ve already walked. And as a parent, it’s so hard to remain quiet when we see our baby’s footprints, headed down a wrong road. Roads we know are so easy to start down, Yet so hard to return from. Some use hints, hoping gentle persuasion will provide the guidance needed, and some bellow with indignation, as if sheer volume will reach where soft words did not. And it’s such a fine line we must walk, because to grant adulthood means granting freedom, and with freedom comes the right to make wrong decisions. But a deliberate lie equates to a broken promise, and a broken heart. Was a mother’s lost trust worth 30 more minutes of freedom? Was time spent in a bravado gesture worth the pain and heartache it caused? Love is still visible in her eyes, but dimmed now with unshed tears. In nature, the time of young adulthood is inherently dangerous, so only the quick, strong, and smart survive. Are humans really that different? bob armentrout copyright 2001