The Connotations of Independence
Today I had a deep philosophical conversation with my mom about independence. I found that I associate independence with the less literal meaning of freedom, and she sees it more as being alone. I thought this was kind of interesting because I really do believe in the simple truth that unless you push yourself to find your boundaries, you cannot know that you are happiest where you already are. I was also raised with that at home with my mom, with an always a safe place to come home to mentality, whereas my mom moved around a lot and her parents were never really around. And then you also could say that I am a lot more independently minded and value my own individualism and that of others, whereas my mom tends to value the collective security of her family and stable home life. So it seems that through different upbringings, and a different personality type, we have arrived with different conclusions about the meaning of the same word. I am happiest when exploring new things with a few close friends or even alone, while my mother of whose DNA I share, sees it as a sense of loneliness and uncomfortableness. As advice to anyone who sees independence as a lack of stability, I have found that if you can stick it out with your fear long enough to find the edge of your comfort zone and step past it, often you can find a sense of happiness and achievement.
