Conformity vs. Freedom-
                         The Choice is Ours to Make 

By: Sacha Ahmad, Editor

 Day to day living is full of choices. It’s only wise to make a decision based on results of each choice. Students are faced with making decisions everyday: how to dress, who to obey, but most importantly, who they chose as their role model. This is where the balance between freedom and conformity comes in: finding a balance between the two is the best way one can live their life. As said in the movie Dead Poets Society by Mr. Keating (played by Robin Williams), “there is a time for daring and a time for conformity and a wise man knows which one is called for.” 

Not everyone can live their life with strict conformity or with absolute freedom. A lack of restrictions is a recipe for disaster, yet too much conformity cripples the free thinking ability. When a person first discovers the true sense of freedom, and cannot seem to find a balance, they’re actions can get out of control. For example, if people didn’t obey the rules for driving on the road, it would be total chaos. However, while driving, you sometimes have to make decisions they don’t tell you about in the rule book…which is where critical thinking comes in. And you need to be able to critically think to find the balance between conformity and freedom. Something just as simple as driving teaches you how to stand on your own as an individual and how to make decisions on your own, while on the road…which is what life does as well.  

This freedom/conformity license doesn’t mean you should abuse it. For example, when you get your driver’s license, you are given the freedom to drive around where ever you want but, at the same time, you’re expected to follow the rules of the road. As soon as you mess with those rules, you have to pay the consequences. The police may be forced to give you a ticket and demerit points may be taken off your license if your free thinking causes a serious accident. These things happen everywhere and it’s everyone’s duty, as a person, to try and prevent it from happening by creating and finding a balance.

 From the examples we teens see from our positive role models, it is clear that the best way to live life is by finding a balance. A balance that helps you make decisions in life. The choice whether to go the right way or to trail off onto the path most taken by the wrong doers, is often faced during our teen years. And although many of us find in our parents, relatives, coaches and teachers good role models to follow… it ends up being our decision as to how we make it. Life is full of making decisions, but living it with a balance of freedom and conformity will lead a person to discover the secrets of leading a happy, successful life.