I have been living independently for 5 years in the same space. In total, I have been living for over seven years. I have struggled with many things through most of my time living on my own. These struggles relate to my independence. This calendar year brought changes, as my mother became a full-time caregiver to my father. Gradually, I had to untether from my mother. I learned the importance of taking more responsibility to live independently.

It wasn’t easy at first. Eventually, I began to pick up on things as I went along. I learned how important it was to do the necessary things. This ensured that I had the best quality of life that I could. I had begun to let go of old baseless theories about my medication. I started to work at being consistent with caring for my mental health. I understood the importance of doing so.

Being in a better place mentally allowed me to better focus on those things that make living independently successful. I cooked more at home and kept my apartment clean on my own with very little help from family. In fact, this year was the first time ever. I successfully passed my annual mechanical and housekeeping inspection. There were no issues needing correction. That alone is a big win in of itself considering that I have struggled with cleaning throughout my own independence.

I started cooking more, which reduced my dependency on delivery services like DoorDash. This change increased my financial health. It also helped me work towards better eating habits and weight control. I had learned to be more responsible because I had the time. I had some of the resources I needed to make things successful for me. I was better at improving my overall situation.

I was taking care of my mental health. My ability to do what I needed to do for my home and overall wellbeing became easier. As time went on, this improved significantly. By this calendar year’s time, it has become much better overall. I had let go of the old habits that I once had. I started to understand that I, my family, and my parents are getting older. With that understanding, there is a need to be more responsible on my part. I have the skills to live independently. I just need to be responsible to keep that independence. This way, I can avoid living in a group home. In such a situation, my quality of life would significantly decline.

I am proud to be at the part of life where I have become more mature. Seeing the place where I am today has paid off. I have learned from my mistakes. I have begun to put what is right in life once and for all. I am not doing the things I had long believed to be true when they were not. Life has definitely changed for my family. I have begun to accept the responsibility of living independently. I am working on being the mature adult that I can be.