Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

The Responsibility of Independence

Many of our children's first taste of independence comes when they go off to college. Often this brings on an euphoria as they realize they no longer need to ask permission and can do as they wish. There is no one to tell them they can't stay up late on a night before an early class, what to eat, or even to make their bed or clean up their room. Most soon learn that with decisions come consequences and if you blow off studying to go party your grades drop below acceptable. To many it takes living in a messy room and in dirty clothes to learn the merits of house work.

Being away in college brings a lot of people their first chance to indulge in alcohol and even mind altering chemicals. This act is often the one that teaches about the responsibility of independence weather it is a simple as a hang over, the embarrassment of incarceration, or the tragedy of causing bodily injury or even death to themselves or someone else. The lesion of moderation is hopefully learned before a tragedy but either way it is still learned. It's shame that movies made in the university genre show all the partying but seldom the prices paid for this rash behavior.

Yes that first taste of freedom is a heady brew but most learn of Newtons law about action and reaction after a fews sips. You may stay up as long as you like but lack of sleep will make the next day just that more difficult. No one will tell you to study but falling grades will show that you still need to take time to study. We go to college to get an education yet maybe the most important lesion we learn is that freedom isn't free and any decision we make can change our lives forever.

More writing by this author

Blogs on This Site