Growing up we are taught to strive to become self-reliant adult members of society. We start out by getting our first jobs, and learning to drive. We start having our own rebellious teenage lives, then take on some bills before we pick a path into adulthood. The goal being to be able to one day support ourselves, financially, mentally, socially, emotionally, and physically.

Being independent is sometimes taken to mean that one does not need help from anyone. But in today’s society asking for help is valued much more than in our parent’s society.

Independence is still valuable but interdependence is becoming more and more valuable for our generation. Today’s society is very social and focused on stopping abusive unhealthy relationships while promoting good ones. As society continues to shift in these directions being interdependent becomes more useful to us than independence alone as we begin adulthood.

Being interdependent requires being independent but capable of having many strong, balanced, healthy relationships. These relationships are ones that can help better their lives. They may provide mental and emotional support, be purely social or help one purse a career that will support them financially.

An interdependent individual is one who has learned how to successfully network. There is an emphasis on networking for college students and those starting their careers.

Society is increasingly social, careers are built on social interactions and impressions made on individuals. Sadly, it is about who you know in the industry that can get you into the industry or where you want to be in your career. This is why we value networking so much.

Our generation is provided with networking conferences, events, online platforms and classes. At Roger Williams I have taken a seminar that taught me the importance of networking, made a linked in account to network online, attended a networking conference, a career fair, and psychology faculty panel. All this to simply make impressions on people in my field and build relationships I can use as references in the future to build my career. This is one way to be interdependent: to forge relationships in one’s career field to further ones career, rather than trying to do so on just independent hard work.

Obtaining independence is a good goal in life, but interdependence is a great tool to accomplish many other goals. The two help you to obtain each other, but first you need to decide which one you will work on first.

I believe I have become successfully independent and am doing better at becoming interdependent. I think the hardest lesson to learn is that you need relationships but you cannot sacrifice your independence for them. Everything should be a healthy balance.