Fresh starts don't always come with the amount of freedom one might think it would. The moment a baby is born, we expect that it has the ability to become whatever it wants to be. But we're neglecting the cultural map it is being born into. And as the baby grows older, his map would change but it is still undoubtedly a map. Now more than likely he would follow this map because its explicit in the way it describes the steps it would take to be cool or socially accepted. It's so much easier to follow something you've seen other people do and has "worked" for them in terms of raising their social standings.
Rebelling the map would only lead you to another map, thus there is no way of escaping the caricature or storyline you've put yourself into. Every move we make, everything we say or do has an audience that passes judgment and analyzes our character based on that. The more we become aware of our audience the more of a puppet we become. We start dramatizing our actions and our appearance to exert a specific identity and hope people get the message that this is who I am. Ultimately, the goal is to be accepted.
When this goal is constantly spinning around in your mind and becomes attached to every decision you make, it's hard to feel freed of boundaries. So you are stuck in a box and no matter how you decide to change, you're still in a box only it's labeled a different name. So the question is, is it even possible to leave your box? If so, how and where would you end up? Should we attempt to change our box? Are some labels better than others or are all labels equally demeaning? Is the right map the map you chose for yourself and not the one from your culture?
I think it is fine to have a map and to be in a box since you can't leave it anyway. It just comes down to which map and what box. It makes sense that the less the choice has to do with others and the way you want them to perceive you, the "better" and more "real" your map is.
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