Independent Woman: The Beginning of My Independence

Growing up, I always had some sort of independence. Whether it was being able to ride my bike around the neighborhood with my friends, or waking myself up for school in the morning, I started my independence at a very early age. I probably started earlier than most. I grew up in what seemed a normal household on the outside, but on the inside wasn’t. My step-father, a plumber, struggled to pay the bills, while my mother, a stay at home mom diagnosed with a disease that kept her from working and functioning normally, did her best to manage my two brothers and I. As my siblings and I grew older the amount of independence and responsibilities we obtained increased. By the sixth grade I was doing my own laundry, making dinner for the family, making sure my brothers got up for school in the morning, and cleaning the house.

At the age of sixteen my mother passed away and my oldest brother moved out of the house. Being the only female in the household now, I completely took over the motherly responsibilities. I did the grocery shopping and even made sure the bills were paid. As stressful as these things may be, they had to get done. When it came time for me to graduate high school and move onto the college life I thought things would become easier. Instead, I took on a whole bunch of new responsibilities.

Now that I am a sophomore at Trinity I’ve pretty much learned how to manage my independence in the most efficient way, but there is always room for improvement. While juggling a full time course load, I also work on campus as an assistant to the Trinity baseball coach, off campus at Cricket (an up and coming cell phone and wireless internet provider), and I run track and field for Trinity as well. I am the sole financial provider for myself. Currently, I pay my own cell phone bill, car insurance (the car is already paid off), health insurance, monthly payments on the new tires I had to buy this summer, and any necessities or luxuries that I want or need. That’s right….I even buy all my own books.

While you may think I’m crazy, I really don’t have a choice. And for those of you out there who thought it was impossible to work and go to school, I’ll be the first to tell you IT IS! So if you’re interested in knowing how I manage my crazy schedule and don’t pull my hair out every day, continue to follow my blog and I’ll tell just how it’s done.