Be Honest. Be Whole. Be Real

That’s freedom.

Nina Simone was being interviewed in 1968. One of the questions: What does freedom mean to you?

Here’s what she said —

“I’ll tell you what freedom means to me: no fear.
I mean really no fear.
If I could have that for half of my life... no fear.
Lots of children have no fear. That’s the closest way. That’s the only way to describe it. That’s not all of it. But it is something to really, really feel.”

It stopped me in my tracks.

Maybe it’s just the bubble I’m in, but everywhere I turn, I hear the same refrain — freedom means financial independence. Freedom is working from your laptop on a beach in Wexford . Setting your own schedule. Doing what you want, when you want, from wherever you want.

But what if that’s not it at all?

What if real freedom isn’t external — it’s emotional? What if freedom isn’t about control, but about courage? About having no fear.

Simone knew fear intimately. She had every reason to shrink. A classically trained pianist, she was shut out of the elite white institutions that told her she’d never belong. Then she became the voice of resistance in a time when speaking up as a Black woman could get you erased — or worse.

Still, she stood tall.

They wanted her to smile on stage. She didn’t.
They urged her to tone it down — to make her music more palatable.
Instead, she delivered Mississippi Goddam with fire in her voice.

Simone wasn’t trying to be difficult. She was holding onto her humanity in a world that demanded she water it down. Be brilliant, but agreeable. Powerful, but not political. Stir emotions, but don’t cause discomfort.

She said no.

She didn’t just perform — she awakened.

In a culture obsessed with perfection, she stayed raw.
In an industry that sands down edges, she stayed sharp.

These days, it feels like we’re all under pressure to smooth ourselves out. To be more likable, more marketable, more digestible.

When you feel that pull—pause.
Think of Nina.
And don’t flinch.

Say the thing.
Sing the note.
Make the art.

Be honest. Be whole. Be real.

That’s freedom.

(Piece inspired by M. Thompson)