Friday, December 9, 2011

Independence vs. Interdependence


            In one of our discussions we talked about independence vs. interdependence, and we were all asked if we were unique.  I think pretty much everyone raised their hands, but then we were challenged with a follow up question…what makes us unique?  This left us all speechless for a while; we then began throwing out topics that separate people: family, interests, values, experiences, religion, culture etc.
            Listing off my own specifics for those topics I was able to kind of see the differences in my life that had made me who I am.  I decided my top three contributing factors were my family, values, and experiences.  In terms of family, I was fortunate enough to have two parents who are still married – this gave me love and support without stressors, and also set a good example.  Being the oldest of three created maturity and responsibility in my life, I was and am a role model to my younger siblings.  For my values I listed things such as service, compassion, integrity, courage, education, social-justice, diversity, passion etc.  And for my experiences I wrote down a lot of my travels, including the ’94 Rwandan Genocide. 
            I decided that the most important contributing factor to my individuality was my family; because they have helped shape my values and have helped give me the experiences I’ve had.

            At the end of this discussion, they left us with one last question…because we are interdependent and connected, does it imply that we are not individuals?
           
This is something I’m still thinking about…what do you think?

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