Autonomy of the Self and the Right to Choose

What do I value most in this world? Of all things I value, and there are many, I value autonomy of the self most, the right to choose my own path, whatever that may be, wherever it may lead. I believe that the right to choose your own path is and should be a fundamental right of every single person on this earth. It is a deeply sacred gift, and one that should be held dear. There are many people in the world who do not have this right, and that saddens me that something so basic and simple, autonomy over one's own person, is denied to so many.

For some women, autonomy of the self means choosing to be a mother and a wife, for others it means being a business executive, a journalist, a religious leader, or an academic, for some it means being both, for others it means being neither. What one chooses to be is not so important as the fact that they have the choice.

So in the interest of relevance, let me now explain something. You may recall me mentioning briefly a few weeks ago that I had a new love interest in my life. Well, let me elaborate. I have a partner, we have been together some months now, but were very close friends for about 9 months before. In fact you've probably already worked out who it is if you have been paying close attention. Her name is Nia, I've mentioned her before, and she occasionally leaves comments here. Of course Nia isn't really her name, just a pseudonym I chose for her, meaning beautiful and intelligent, because she is, she really, really is. I don't really have too much more to say about this here, except to say that we are very settled in our relationship. Now my point in bringing this up is that the right to choose this path, to be with Nia, is a sacred right that I have and it is something I value almost more than life itself, because what would life be if I couldn't choose my own way?