Maturity

Everyone has their own idea of what maturity is- but I believe true maturity can only be achieved through complete independence. Now of course, this includes financial independence, but independence cannot be reached with that alone. Compared to the other elements that are independence, the financial component is vastly insignificant, metaphorically "child's play". True independence requires living one's life completely uninfluenced by other's ideas or actions, by circumstances, or anything else that originates outside one's mind. This extreme, if achieved at all, would be a novelty; Most people would probably think it to be a very depressing-sounding lifestyle that only a fool would try to force upon themselves. That may be so, but there is an even greater possibly that those who have the perspective- that is, most of us, cannot imagine happiness living in such a manner because they themselves are far from mature. It could be that no one has reached this level of maturity, although it's more likely than not someone has. Perhaps even those who reached it did not disclose this information, because they thought it unlikely that another would appreciate, or even believe that knowledge. If this were the case they thought right.

I myself aspire to achieve true maturity...or at least salvage a glimpse of it. To be able to live a life without regard for what other's think- to be able to disregard insults without the slightest feeling of irritation. And most importantly- to move forward through life exactly as I see fit, gaining the ability to nullify any ill affect that others may have on my life. But as of yet, I still have a long way to go. I still have anger when others insult me, or claim to know better than I do in matters concerning my own life. I am continually tormented by people wasting their lives. If am I so easily influenced by those earning the title "scum of the earth" I am indeed a long way from being mature- especially emotionally.

There is another element needed to achieve true independence (and thus maturity) that makes for a much more doable goal, and that is discipline. Once again- I have chosen a more idealistic definition for discipline: I believe that true discipline can only be reached when a person can push themselves to meet goals and necessities with nothing but sheer determination. To clarify what I mean by this- I will put forth the analogy of a person dying of hunger. That person has all the reason in the world to work- because their survival depends on it. To me, a person who only adapts when absolutely necessary has no discipline. You might notice, as I do, that this of course implies that overall the world has no discipline- which is undoubtedly true. True discipline can only be reached by an individual when they can take the initiative to, rather than fullfiling their needs, take measures to ensure that they never need anything in the first place. In other words, preventing needs from ever becoming realities.

I have confirmed this in my mind with a few examples- Having an organized room so it does not need to be cleaned; Paying bills in full to prevent racking up debt...and so on. Pure discipline can be summed in one word- prevention. But to be able to prevent requires initiative- which I, as well as many (if not most) are in need of (ironically!) Although this may seem like an extreme method- I hope to achieve discipline by pushing myself through my college education without the help of a formal institution. If I were to go to college formally, I would be able to easily gain the education I need, but would fail in meeting my need of discipline- because very little can be gained by that method- where you are told by others what to do- and constantly monitored by means of homework, tests, projects, and grades. I do intend to go to college in 6 months- with the assistance of a grant. If I were to go now, I would have to pay a loan until I use a grant next semester- so this being the case, I find it would be a good opportunity to advance myself for 6 months of my own accord until them. Hopefully, in that time I will have learned at least some of the discipline which is required to not only survive (as most of the world does) but thrive, as I plainly have the potential to.