Non-Negotiable

Or Why I Wept at a Parade

Last year, my partner and I took our kiddo to the Independence Day parade in town for the first time. She was delighted. Costumes. Floats. Candy catching. Popsicle munching. It was enough to keep a toddler riveted for the hour. I expected her to have a good time. I mean, what kid doesn’t like a parade? But something unexpected happened too. I wept.

I know, I know. It sounds flipping dramatic, even to me. And it was. But I realized I had tears in my eyes before I had time to process why they were there. It wasn’t until I got home that I understood why I had had an emotional reaction to a set of flag-waving flautists playing Revolutionary War tunes:

My tears were a direct and positive response to freedom.

You see, by Independence Day 2022, I was six months into my freelance journey, struggling to make ends meet for my family, driven by purpose and passion, and coming down off what felt like a really bad political trip.

Because, like so many others, my life changed in March 2020 with lockdown directives and then again in winter 2022 when my former employer mandated a certain vaccine, one I had already spoken to my doc about and neither wanted nor needed.

The universe has unique ways of forcing one to seize their purpose, and—as it turns out—a vaccine mandate was the universe’s way of kicking me in the pants.

Refusing the vaccine and ending my corporate career was my bra-burning moment. I mean, how on earth could I raise a daughter with vocal cords strong enough to stand up for herself if I was unwilling to do the same for me? After that, I knew I would never go back to working for someone else, never go back to allowing someone else to control my destiny.

A year later, as I think about who I was in July 2022 and who I am today, I am thankful, now more than ever, to have freedom. Freedom to choose the work I do, the clients I serve, and the time I spend doing it. Freedom to control my body and live in alignment with my intuition. Freedom to teach my daughter what bravery truly means.

Moving to freelance developmental editing, story coaching, and writing has brought positivity and hope into my life. It has fueled my passion fires. And I finally understand the meaning of Independence Day.

I’m building the life I want for myself and my family; our freedom is not negotiable.

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Have you taken a chance on yourself in pursuit of freedom? Let me know about your experience in the comments.

♥ Fallon