Last night I drove my friend Kim and her sister home and got into one of the most interesting conversations I’ve had in quite a long time. Kim believes her boyfriend needs to become more independent from his parents as she sees them as still treating him as if he is a young kid, he is actually nineteen. He recently got a good paying job and she says that he is on his way and hopefully will become less dependent on his parents. Her sister on the other hand says that neither of them are ready to be fully independent; she brought up very good points seeing that both live under their roofs of their respected parents still and a part time job will never even pay half of any bill. Her final thoughts on the matter were “You’re both not ready to be independent , nobody is forcing you to do so. Ya both can still ask your parents for whatever you want unlike when you’re older. You need to enjoy that luxury while you still can.”
The most expensive thing I ever bought with my own money, I did feel quite accomplished to do so
Going through middle and high school I was always labeled as the “rich kid” and I tried so hard to shake that false nickname. That goal coupled with just growing up can explain why I desire to be seen or at least try to be independent and make my own way. I can’t even remember the last time I asked for a gift, birthday or even Christmas, on top of that fact nights I go out with friends I always turn down any money my parents want to give me. I’ve gotten into the habit of “If I can’t afford it, I don’t buy it.” It seems to be quite a good motto to live by. My desire to be independent is fueled by my pride, I feel that relying on my parents when I’m eighteen isn’t something I should be doing.
Looking around at my group of friends most of them go to school full time and a handful have a job on the side. Of course thanks to scholarships and loans that money earned from a job is mostly used for leisurely purposes and rarely saved or invested. On the other hand though, most of them want to make it on their own as well and really just grow up and be dependent on no one by themselves. It’s safe to assume that all of us teenagers want to be independent.
Perhaps though, my friend’s sister is completely right. Perhaps none of us teens are really one hundred percent ready to make it on our own just yet. We still live under our parents roofs and I can’t say I know any of my friends who pay all of their own bills by themselves. We still have the luxury of being helped by our parents and it really is something we should enjoy and not brush aside. I guess my desire to be fully independent can be put on hold for at least another year or two.
