I stepped out into the expansive back yard, the cool breeze whispering through my hair. The sun was low in the sky, throwing a reddish glow onto the nearby clouds. The air was crisp and cool, a perfect fall evening. A light mist hugged the ground, shrouding the trees.

"Will, where are you?" I called, searching the trees for a sight of him.

"I'm up here," I looked up to see Will's smiling face perched on the thick branch of a poplar tree.

I climbed up to sit next to him, saying "I want to talk to you". He shut his laptop as I sat down and looked at me expectantly. "Will...would you like to go to college? Maybe BYU? What if money was no object? Would you get a degree, get a career?"

Will was silent for a long moment. "Liz...I finished high school a year early. I got through that experience as fast as possible. Now...now I'm free. I have my own business. I'm learning and doing things the things I care about...the things I love. I'm living my life exactly the way I want to." He paused, starting off at the setting sun. "Going to college, getting a career...no. Not for you, not for me. There is so much wonder and beauty in this world...why waste it all learning things you don't want want to? Why waste your life by doing things people tell you to, always in bondage...when you can be truly free, your own master? Devote your time to the things that matter most to you. Live and learn free. Lizzie, life is about living. Don't waste the living doing things you don't love. Be free for creativity and divine inspiration to run through you."

I pondered this, "But Will, is that really possible? Can you really live that way?"

"Look at me, a musician and a writer, with a business of my own. I spend my days hiking, learning, being creative, working with my beloved business whenever I want to. Really living life. I'm happy with who I am and what I do. What could be better? I am truly free."

Will took my hand, leaping down from the tree branch. "Let me show you." We started to run, barefoot through the cool, tall grass, the fog dancing round our feet. There were stars glowing overhead, shining with all their might. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I gazed at their beauty. I seemed to hear his voice speak as if from afar...

"If you were in a lecture hall...could you see this?"

Suddenly, the sun was shining brightly, we sat by a window at the piano...Will was writing a song, I found myself holding pencil and paper in my hand. Lyrical words covered the pages, they seemed to fit with his soaring music. He looked up at me "If you were completing an assignment from your professor, could you be writing this?"

The scene changed again and I saw we were in the kitchen, baking gingersnaps. They smelled wonderful. Will touched a few keys on his laptop. I knew he was doing some work on his home owned business. He grinned as he swiped a gingersnap. "If you were sitting in a college classroom, could you be baking these?"

Again, with a rush of air, I found myself somewhere else. A street, where a child had fallen of her bike. Will picked her up and dusted her off, drying her tears. As we waved goodbye to the now happy child, we saw an old woman, bending wearily over her flower garden. Will and I went to her, we weeded her garden...we made a new friend. "If you were in University, could you be doing this?"

This time, I was ready for the change, the blurring of the world around me. Now we were in a sunlit field. Will took my hands and we danced through the field, singing and laughing. "If you had an ordinary career...could you choose to forget everything and just dance?"

I shook my head, finally realizing what he was saying to me. As I did so, I saw we were back underneath the large poplar tree. Will looked into my eyes, "Elizabeth...this is freedom. This is how you are meant to live...with creativity and compassion."