Is it better to live by the rules?

What is wrong with me? It seems I have this aversion to rules. I don't even think its on purpose, it just seems to happen. At work the past few months I have been going under hours, which at our work is a cardinal sin, one of the biggest don'ts. The thing is no one said anything for months, so I continued to go about my business of leaving as early as possible at night, and giving away as many shifts as I could. This worked well until a few weeks ago when I was called into the shift manager's office. I was told I had gone under hours 10 pay periods in a row, not good. I was also told I am allowed no more sick calls until August, and can't be late until then either. WHAT??? CRAP!!! At this point I was suspended for three days, which I pointed out would cause me to go under hours once more. They said I wouldn't be held accountable for these pay periods, I thought it was foolish because of the fact that their suspending me was causing me to involuntarily further my bad behavior. This did nothing to change their mind, and I got 3 days off.
Out of this whole suspension experience came yet another talk. I was forced to go talk with the main supervisor over my department, this in order to sign papers and come back to work. Well I've had run-ins with this man before. My aunt who works with him later told me he said, that I seemed cute and smart it just seemed like I wanted to fight him on everything. Do I need the conflict in my life? No. Do I care enough about this person to invest in fighting with him? No. Did he call me "bud" as I was leaving his office? Yes. Did I expect a playful punch in the shoulder to follow? Yes. It didn't.

Now, if it had been this one incident in my life that pointed to me being a non rule abiding gal I would probably change the behavior, laugh it off, go back to work and do better. However, this isn't just a recent problem I have encountered of unintentionally breaking rules, and having it backfire. Why can't I just obey the rules, and live contently like so many others seem to do?
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I got booted out of BYU for honor code violations, I had a string of boyfriends whom my family and friends all disapproved of, for reasons I refused to see. These boys ended up being bad for me in different ways and because of different things, but I refused to give them up just because those who cared about me told me to do so. It was something about me thinking I saw something in them no one else could, because they weren't in the relationship in reality it was the other way around. Silly me.

I got pregnant and I thought for once following the rules and getting married would actually go in my favor. How can one girl be wrong so many frustrating times? I ended up leaving to do it mostly on my own, (with help from those who were bound by blood). I want to raise my child in a world where he looks past the rules once in awhile to discover new things, places, and people that maybe are beyond the rules. I don't want him to become a felon, a druggie, or a trouble maker, but I do want him to look past what the world tells him he should do, or what he has to do. I want him to see the world from both sides, as a rule keeper when its safest and in his best interest to do so. On the other hand I want him to push the limits to reach goals, see the world differently, and find out what works for him. He pushes the rules on a daily basis, and it drives me nuts, because he's not always safe, and doesn't always stay right by my side. He explores, he pushes, and he learns by doing so. How can I always say no?

I guess the question I am throwing out to the universe, to myself, is what is better to follow the rules and conform to what "we're supposed to do" or to be your own person live the way you way to and say F you world, I'll do what I want. (Within reason of course). Its not that I want to break the rules, its just that I don't always like following them. How can I be a good mother, employee, citizen, and person without doing it in my own way all the time? I don't need things my way ALWAYS!! Right?