Freedom isn't Free!

Happy 4th of July!!! My sister, Nicole, LOVES America!! I mean, I can totally understand why she does. We are blessed to live here, so it makes sense. I love America too and am incredibly grateful for my freedoms. I love that we live in a country that we can do whatever we want for the most part. I mean we can't go around killing people and stuff, and actually I am really grateful for that too! Anyways, I love that I could go to school and get an education in the field that I chose. I am grateful we can choose our religion and respect others for choosing theirs. I have recently realized that I don't allow myself to be "free" when it comes to friends. I have recently discovered that I am such an annoying people pleaser that it drives me crazy!!! I finally decided (with the help of a trained professional.. let's call him Brett :) ) That it's OK if I chose to do something that someone doesn't want me to do. Example: If one friend asks me to do something with them and I don't want to... I don't have to. Before if someone asked me to do something I would always say yes, UNLESS I had other plans. So sometimes I would fib a little and make up stories because I didn't want to go. Realizing this was such a huge deal to me! It might sound crazy to you, but realizing that someone won't hate me if I don't always hang out with them, or they won't think I am a bad person if I just want to stay home was a BIG deal to me! So I guess in some strange way this 4th of July I feel a new sense of freedom. I feel freedom from having to be perfect, or pretending that I am. Because we all know no one is perfect. And not everyone can do something all of the time. I have decided that the best thing to know you have is Freedom, whether it's religious, social, or mental, it is seriously something we are blessed with!