I Am an Independent Soul

It started from birth

HPhoto by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

When I saw this prompt to write an “I am” story, I felt challenged.

It’s true that we are many things, not just one thing. As I sit now to write this, what is it that I want to share to explain who “I am”?

If I had to pick one thing, the first thing that came to mind was the word ‘Independent.’

I mentioned in the title that I’ve been that way since birth. The reason that I say that is because I was an only child. No brothers, no sisters, just me.

While I had many friends in the neighborhood, I never had a problem spending time by myself. As a little girl, I could entertain myself for hours with my Barbies. Then, as I got older, I could spend hours reading and writing. It didn’t bother me to go on a bike ride or head to the gym on my own.

College was a great experience. There was no fear of leaving home and starting a new adventure. I loved meeting new people and just taking in the whole college experience. Those four years were the start of my grown up indepence. I was moving on from learning how to do things on my own, yet still had the safety of my parents, to full-blown independence and being accountable one hundred percent for my choices.

When I graduated and moved out on my own, it was an exciting time.

I loved having a place that was my own. I was responsible for everything, and I liked it that way. I didn’t expect anything from my parents. My parents were retired and didn’t have a lot of extra funds. They would help where they could with groceries, but they had their own expenses. My parents raised me to be independent.

Luckily, with an apartment, repairs were my landlord’s responsibility. I did have my own tools, and when I bought anything that needed assembly, I learned how to do it by myself. I’d made friends who always offered to help if I needed it, but I didn’t want to be dependent on anyone.

I think being an only child of older parents, I knew one day I would be on my own. If I didn’t meet Mr. Right, I had to make sure I was planning for my future.

The day finally came when I purchased my own house. It made more sense to invest in a house rather than continuing to pay rent. With that house came new responsibilities. Now there was a lawn to mow. It was up to me to be self-reliant and do the research, ensuring I got the best bang for my household buck. Rooms needed painting over the years. I could do that.

Repairs, well, I didn’t get that independent. I draw the line on plumbing and electrical work.

Occasionally, furniture needed to be moved because I wanted to change the look of a room. Usually, there was no one around when the urge to move things came, so I found ways to move most pieces on my own.

I saw a meme recently that said that if the husband of an independent woman is asked to do a job around the house, he has only a few minutes to act and get it done. Failure to act quickly will result in her doing the job herself. This made me laugh as I’ve done that very thing recently with my husband.

I’d yelled out to see if he could bring a larger load of laundry up from the basement. At the time, I was working on putting previously washed clothes away. He was watching golf, so I figured if he could grab the last load and bring it up, it would save me a trip.

Five minutes later, I was done with what I had been doing and was ready to finish by putting the rest of the laundry away. It was still in the dryer. I grabbed the basket and headed down to get it. My husband yelled over, saying he would have gotten it.

So as you can see, I resembled that remark completely. When I have a job I’m working on. I don’t want to put anything off waiting for someone’s help if I can do it myself.

I hope others will take the “I Am” challenge on. It really makes you sit and think about who or what you want to tell others “you are”.

***Thoughts a Thinking*** is a name I chose as I wanted to base my writing on thoughts I have. Retired and loving it. It’s time to do what I’ve always wanted, and that’s to write. I hope you all enjoy it. Feel free to check out my stories on Medium.

If you liked this, please clap 50 times, highlight, comment on it, and/or share it with others to read. This really encourages me as a writer.