The Growing Man

Whether people want to believe it or not, humans instinctually rely on others to survive. As babies, we need constant human interaction so we can grow up and be able to make proper connections and bonds for the rest of our lives. When we get older, we rely on others to share good times with us and to be there to help us during the bad. As we approach the end of our lives, we rely on others to keep us strong and help us make it to the end. Many people dislike the idea of relying so heavily on others, because one thing that Americans value greatly is our independence. Independence is one of the many values that our society cherishes heavily, because people like keeping to themselves and pride themselves on being able to handle their lives and be successful without help from anyone else in a private manner. A connection I can make to this concept involves my grandma. Her father died when she was only 17 years old, and she had to take care of the rest of her family and her mother until the end of my great-grandma's life. Throughout her entire life she has always prided herself on being so strong and independent. She recently fell very ill and now relies on my family to help her do even the most basic things that she never needed help with prior to her sickness. It took going through numerous surgeries and being forced to get help from others for her to realize that everyone needs the help of others at some point; that's just the way we are made.