I think we’re living in an era where there are all kinds of choices. If you hate your job, you can switch careers. If you’ve hit your limit, you can take a leave of absence. If married life is rough, you can divorce. If the place you’re in now is painful, you can go somewhere else. But in reality, it isn’t that easy to choose. There’s money to live on. There are worries about the future. There’s also the fear of letting go of the place you’re in. There are the eyes of family and friends to worry about. Or, in the first place, you don’t even know what you truly want to do. So before you know it, you end up doing things you don’t want to do. At first it was for the sake of living. I didn’t want to be seen as weird by the people around me. I didn’t want to mess up in a big way. I wanted to look like I was doing things properly as an ordinary person. But as you keep at it, I feel like you gradually lose track of what you like, what you hate, and what you want to value. Even though the world is full of choices, maybe surprisingly few people are thinking for themselves and choosing their own path. I think it’s important to take responsibility for what I want to do, work hard, and take on challenges. Of course, I don’t think people who endure and work are weak.
We are putting up with too much, but not because we lack options—we stay because the current prison is mapped and the exit is foggy. Real “freedom” isn’t a dramatic leap; it’s quietly, repeatedly choosing small exits from what drains you until one day you realize you’ve already left the old life behind.