I read an Odyssey article a few days ago about getting help and letting your parents still do things for you, even as an adult. Some of the comments on that article were kind of heartbreaking and some of them I did understand. I'm just here to say, there's nothing wrong with asking for help from your parents or family members, but I do understand that not everyone has that option.
It's cool to move out and live on your own but it's also cool to call your parents when you're in a bind. "Mom, dad, can I please borrow...?" There was one comment on the article that said that the writer was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. And I, for one, have no room to judge or criticize a fellow writer's article because it's her life and her words. But I do believe that if you have that type of relationship with your family and you can do most things on your own, it doesn't matter if you're 18 or 21, you're parents don't want to see you fail. They want to see you struggle a bit because not everything in life is free, when you struggle, you learn lessons and learn to get back on your feet. At least, that's what my parents are teaching me. Like the writer of the article, I work, and things I want and need, I buy, but if your mom calls and says "do you need...?" It's not the worst thing in the world to say, "oh my gosh, thanks, mom, I actually do need..." Or if your dad calls to check on the condition of your car, it's because he doesn't want his son/daughter to be stuck on the side of the road because they couldn't afford to take their car to the shop.
Listen, like I previously stated, it's good that people have these relationships with their parents, family, or just people who can help them out, but I do understand that a lot of people don't have that, but just because someone does have it, doesn't make them any less of a person that people who don't. We all struggle. My dad frequently reminds me that this is life and I have to be independent. I think I've learned that a lot since I began college. Once I moved out and had to endure a lot of that horrifying adult "stuff", I realized a lot about the world and a lot about myself.
But like I said when you can and need to ask for help, do that.