A beautiful mind

Saturday, May 23, 2009

The independence quiz

Many of my frens are turning 21. Or, have already past 21. As such, the issue of independence have kicked in. Did you know that in some countries, parents kick their children out of the house once they reached 21. Such patterns are usually common in mammals. We have to leave the pack when we reached certain age. Humans are like animals. We have to leave the pack to be independent.

When I turned 21(which was yesterday). My father spoke to me.

"What are you gonna do about your life?" he asked in a solemn manner.

"We dont have many 21s in our lives you know. you've reached your first 21. When another 21 passed, you'd be 42. What do you wish to have achieve by the time you turned 42?"

Woah... That was some serious conversation.

I had this plan that when I turned 21, I want to leave the house, rent a place at my fren's place, provide for myself and buy a saving insurance. But all this wasnt realised due to the high school fees i'm incurring now. But I still try to work and school at the same time. I save whatever I can, work whenever I can.

Few of my frens have been telling me about their independence. Eg, I got this guy fren who always spend money which I dono came from where. Tho he always say he used his own money, I always knew his 'own money' refered to his allowance his father gave him.

Let's talk about the most basic of this. Few questions to ask yourself here.

Do you iron your own clothes?
Do you handwash whatever that needs to be handwashed yourself?
Do you do your own dishes?
Do you clean your own room?

If yes to all above,
Are you financially independent?

Most of the time, many thinks that being financial independent = independent, which is of cos not true according to what we see above. Financially independent is probably the second level of independence.

If you're spending what you earn, yet you still need others to clean your room, pack your clothes for you, do your dishes. Are you really that independent?

On the other hand, if you are taking money from your parents. But you're contributing to the household by doing the chores, cleaning the house, dishes and laundry. Your parents will be able to work without worrying about the house. I'm sure they are more than happy to give u the money u need. Afterall, a mature child spends more wisely than the immature one.

Of course it's better if you can achieve both. Doing your own chores, and working for your own keep. Financially independent. I know friends who are taking care of their family, chore-wise and financial-wise, and I'm proud of them. *salute*

Meanwhile, if you are still acting like a baby in your house, still needing people to take care of your everyday needs.

TIME TO GROW UP!! =D