Topic #1

With college comes independence. Every kid dreams of going off to college and no longer having any type of authority telling them what to do. No more bedtimes, curfews, telling when to stop watching TV and go do homework, etc. With this new independence, college students learn to be their own authority and know when to have fun and know when to get down to business.

Ever since she was younger, Dee has always been different than Mama and Maggie. She has never really associated herself with her family. Dee had always wanted things her family could not afford and did not understand why she did not have all the luxuries all the other kids had. She was so caught up in herself; she did not even acknowledge the sacrifices her family was making. Dee went off to college and became an entirely new person.

Dee tried to break away from her family entirely. She took her new independence and ran with it. She distanced herself from her family so much that she had yet to even come back to visit Mama and Maggie since the devastating fire had engulfed their home. With her new independence she tried to make a new identity for herself. She took her new found independence to an extreme almost in an insulting way to her family. She changed her name to try to establish herself in her heritage, but in exchange she abandoned a family name. Her mother and Maggie did not understand why Dee would come back and insult them. They were fine with their lifestyle and who they were, but Dee totally changed her ways and thrived off of her new found independence.

When I came to college I realized that I no longer had my parents looking out for my health and safety. I always wondered why my mom was so hard on me about my sleep habits, but since I have been away from her I have figured it out. I need at least 8 hours of sleep to properly function and I definitely am not getting that in college. No longer having my mom to tell me to go to bed or when to wake up from a tap has been something that I have had to adjust to.

In high school I never had a job, only in the summer. When I got to college I decided to get a job, to learn how to multitask and more importantly to have my own money for the first time in my life. In the past I had babysitting jobs throughout the year, but never constant cash flow. I like having my own cash flow and no longer feeling dependant on my parent’s money. Also, by having a job I truly feel like I am preparing myself for the real world. I work 16 hours a week, take 18 credits, play club tennis and am in a sorority. I now know the definition of time management.

Coming to college and for once in my life being my own person and no longer having anyone watching out for me or watching over me has been something I have had to learn how to get used to. But, unlike Dee I have not taken my independence to an extreme and tried to change the person I was when I did not have been own independence. I am still the same Emily, with independence.