Independence

Independence is very important to me. It involves freedom and choice. I want to be independent enough to make the choices that are best for me. I want to be able to support myself if the need arose and be educated enough to know what my options are. I love my husband more than anything in the world but if anything ever happened to him, I want to be independent enough to survive. Before we got married, I graduated from college and we waited a year so that I could live alone and learn to support myself. I didn't depend on family or friends in order to pay my bills, feed myself, or enjoy life on a day to day basis. This doesn't mean that I isolated myself from my family and friends but I had confidence in my ability to survive. Independence means also that I am able to make the choice of being emotionally attached to people. It gives me the freedom to trust others and open myself to their ideas and feelings. There is also a lot of responsibility attached to independence. I need to respect others rights to independence even if it something I do not agree with. I need to understand that other's need for independence is just as important to them as it is for me and sometimes those needs may conflict or overlap. I also need to know that Independence may involve give and take as long as I don't compromise my values. These are choices that I have the ability to make. Without independence, I would not have freedoms or choices.