I don't have any particular pieces of writing to show my independence, but at 17 years old, I made the decision to move out of my house and get my own apartment. My friend Kory and I, rented an apartment up Spring Valley, just behind the CMC campus. We didn't do particularly well, as we were kicked out in about 3 or 4 months, but i learned a lot about being on your own. First, i learned that life is hard. It's a task to manage coming up with enough money to pay rent every month, keep food in your stomach, keep gas in the car, and juggle school, a social life, and any other costs that may come your way. It is very difficult. We spent too much time partying and not near enough time figuring out how we were going to obtain the money we needed to get by. I also learned that Balance is crucial to survival. You need to be able to know when to say the party's gotta stop so i can get homework done, or when you need to sit down and have a serious conversation with your room mate about him buckling down and actually getting a job, rather than just screwing around all the time.