In·de·pen·dant: free from outside control; not depending on another’s authority
In·de·pen·dence: the fact or state of being independent
To me, the dictionary definition of independence is just one part of what I think of when I think of the word independence. I also think of being strong, thinking for oneself, being alone, and some level of stress. Being independent, in short, has a mostly positive association, but once you yourself are independent, it can very quickly feel like you’re drowning in a sea of stress and aloneness. It’s hard to stay strong.
One of the things that you can’t ever forget once you reach that point where you become independent is that you are never alone. It’s easy to think that you are—you become self sufficient, and in some cases you may live alone—but you never are. There is always one person that is standing behind you, whether it’s your parents, a friend, or someone else. Even if you don’t see that person working in your life, you need to remember that they are working, and that they are going to be there for you whenever you need someone that knows you.
Another thing that you need to remember is that it is okay to ask for help, and that asking for help is not a sign of weakness, rather, it is a sign of strength. Not everything in life can be done alone, nor should it be done alone. There is a fine line that has to be figured out when you’re on your own. As humans, we’re not made to be able to handle things completely on our own, nor are we made to isolate ourselves from others. We’re taught that asking for help is a sign of weakness, and then go on to isolate ourselves, and break ourselves on the inside because we don’t want to admit that we need to ask for help. In this case, asking for help is a sign of strength. Knowing that you need help and working up the courage to ask for it is a part of being independent.
The biggest part of becoming independent is not losing sight of who you are and want to be. You’re going to grow and change throughout the process of becoming independent, and there are going to be times where you feel lost, like you don’t know what direction you’re meant to be going in, like you’re not a strong person. But you have to remember that just being independent and making it through another day is strength enough. Asking for help is strength. Knowing that you’re not alone is strength.
You need to find your own definition of strength, and once you find it, you need to stick to it, and know your definition of strength is going to be enough, regardless of what others think.