Freedom Citation Essay: The Essence of Liberty Published May 20, 2015 By Senior Airman Maria Murillo 72nd Force Support Squadron TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, OKLA. -- I never knew what freedom truly meant to me until I grew up. Even in childhood, I was well aware of having to "pay" for small victories, such as saving my allowance to purchase that video game which my mother constantly denied me, or finishing my schoolwork promptly so that I would be rewarded the luxury of free time. Life was simple and painless, and sacrifice was two-dimensional. At first, it meant nothing. It was upon growing up that I slowly realized the difference between small victories and enormous triumphs. When I moved from my motherland to soil on which I was considered alien, I was ignorant as to how much freedom my family had garnered. I had forsaken my schoolwork and pained my parents, not realizing the price they had to pay just to educate me until I found that a diploma -- a small sheet of elegant paper - mattered in this country more than it did in my homeland. When I enlisted in the military, I did not completely recognize that I desired more to sacrifice my life for this foreign land than for my home; however, when I finally did recognize this sacrifice, torrents of gratitude busted from my heart and soul. I placed the spectacles with blue lenses over my brown eyes, and I saw even more how much my liberty was rife with captivity. I realized this one day, and fell to my knees in overwhelming thankfulness. Here I was, wearing a type of uniform that would have crucified me, had I worn it back home -- and I was thanked for it. I thought it undeniably fortunate to actually put my education to use. I thought the world of being able to love on my own, instead of being a prize in a match-making game. I reveled in knowing that I would be able to walk city streets without having to fear for my life as if I was at constant war. In short, I finally grew up. To know peace, one must know war. To know friendship, one must know solitude. To know liberty, one must know bondage. It is this wisdom that I am fortunate to know right here and right now -- and I neither would have been as wise nor as grateful if not for where it all began, and where it continues. It began with the sacrifice my parents made for our family. It continues with the sacrifices that I have and will make in return -- not just for myself or my family, but for this country. My story may not even scratch the surface of what freedom truly means, but know this: to be free is to be grateful, and to be grateful is to sacrifice. To sacrifice is to love, unceasingly.