Personal Narrative: My Love Of Independence

“Wow! I bet you get a lot of Christmas presents.” “Who do you fight with?” “I bet you get lonely.” These are some of the reactions I receive when I inform people that I am an only child. While alone time is inevitable when being an only child, it is not the side effect that many view it to be. This unique situation has given me the ability to develop relationships and discover love of independence.

Throughout my life, I have cultivated close relationships with my family and peers. With no siblings to bond with, talk about problems with, or share adventures with, I realized as a child that I would have to look elsewhere for those essentialities. The foundation of developing relationships began with my family, specifically my parents. Throughout my life, I have been exposed to an adult’s perspective which has benefited me remarkably. While most people my age do not tag along to political rallies with their mom and dad or discuss world news at dinner, this is an everyday occurrence in my home. This resulted in a strong bond between my
While I love being with others, my alone time is just as gratifying. My alone time as a child consisted of various thoughts and daydreams ranging from games to play, adventures to embark on, and stories to tell, and as I grew older those thoughts and daydreams changed into creative ideas such as stories to write or ideas for a school project. Without siblings to lead the way or carve out a path for me to follow, I was forced to learn to think for myself and solve my problems as well as develop my interests in certain hobbies such as reading or paddleboarding. The time spent by myself made me realize the importance of independence. While many my age would not dare to do anything alone, I do not mind. Trips to the movies, lunch alone or outdoor adventures are fulfilled