Individual Self Fulfillment

Identity Formation

I read Edwin Baker’s fascinating ideas about liberty and freedom of speech and the first amendment, and I honestly agreed with so many of the meaningful things he said. Coming into college has been a huge, life-changing switch up in my life and kind of a powerful wake-up call about who I really want to be. In high school I kind of just went with the easy flow and didn’t really care about who I genuinely was and how people honestly thought about me. Baker talks about how free speech lets us make our own unique identity and that’s exactly what it’s felt like I’ve been doing with college and like carefully choosing my actions and what I say wisely. Every single time I’m talking I’m showing them who I truly am and how I confidently carry myself. I also am finally seeing my natural, authentic self and testing out bold ideas and trying new, exciting things which is something I really love. In high school I was just parroting what my parents would think, not saying I don’t agree with them but I also enjoy critically thinking for myself and seeing what I personally and genuinely believe.

Connections

I’ve met amazing people here who get my random references and laugh at my dumb jokes and people who actually want to hear me and I want to hear them. But when I can freely express my real, honest self, that’s who I really connect with and who I genuinely want to be around. It’s like speech creates incredible people who I want to be with and who I would’ve never found without being completely myself. When I can openly express my truth and thoughts, I feel deeper connections with people and more real and authentic. I just don’t feel like someone who just goes with the flow and just thinks what everyone else thinks and be a mindless sheep.

Self-Actualization

Sometimes I catch myself in the middle of an amazing conversation and I’m like “wow this is actually what I believe” and I absolutely love that feeling and the self-actualization that Baker passionately talks about is that exact thing, and that’s the person who I’m fully meant to be. I’m realizing that freedom of speech isn’t just about strict laws and complicated judicial things but it’s about actual life in general and you can use it every single day and honestly should use it every single day. Finding who I truly am in college is a crazy journey and freedom of speech will 100% help with that and becoming my genuine, true self and not acting like someone I’m totally not.