• Independence is key.

    Growing up is the hardest part of being an adult.  We want the fun but not the responsibility, We want to party until the sun goes down but we don’t want to work the next day.  We want to be in love but not commit, We want to grow old living in an expensive house and drive nice cars but we don’t want to work for the money that will pay for it all.  Learning to be independent was the first skill I had to master as a grown up, not how to handle money but more importantly how to spend it.

    I grew up in a family where money never grew on trees, my parents always taught me from a young age to work for my money and never to ask for it.  At first, I thought they were being mean by not letting me have money to spend at the shops for sweets or giving me money to buy another pointless diary that I wouldn’t use.  But as I started to grow the money that I had been saving and not spending on ridiculous stuff actually turned out in my favour.  I had money for dance lessons, train fairs and even to pay for the extra acting classes outside of college.  It gave me a sense of knowing that my money was going on experiences to better myself rather than down the toilet with everyone else on a Friday night.
    Don’t get me wrong when I first started with getting spending money I assumed that this money was endless and that every time I wanted something I could just pop my purse out and it would all be paid for.  It was then when I had to start saving more because my life became a little more interesting as I aged.  I got told if I wanted extra money I had to earn it around the house like everyone else at that age but that wasn’t enough, I became hungry.  I became hungry not only for the money but for the independence I was earning without the help from my family.  My own work was paying for the life I wanted and I loved it.
    When you travel, unless you are lucky enough to encounter a fortune to last your whole trip you will always have to fend for yourself in the big wide world, it’s not high school anymore where you get a pat on the back or constant help, when your out in the wild you’re on your own and that’s the way it is.  Learning to be independent really opened me up to the many ways of which life could offer you if you saved right and learnt from your mistakes which in time I found out were a blessing in disguise. I now know when the universe is giving me signals on whether  I should waste my money on pointless things that won’t really benefit me in the long run or spend it on on experiences which will guide me to being a better person in the future.  Except for frozen yoghurt, that will always be a priority in my eyes.



    There is also a con to being independent and that is once again learning to look after yourself.  I never wanted to rely on my parents, in fact, I can’t really remember the last time I asked them for money but because of that, I find it hard at times to buy certain things.  No matter how old you are when an object appeals to you, it’s quite hard to get that object out of the desired zone and into your shopping bag when you’re low on cash and counting the coins in your money jar.  I have sometimes gone weeks, even months dreaming about buying certain things because in my head there has never really been a time to buy it, it was never a priority but more an object of desire.


    Learn how to keep on top your independence by counting your money but also keeping some aside for yourself every now and again. Make yourself a priority once in a while. (For me I buy stupidly expensive yoga leggings when I’m feeling kind – yoga clothes are life).  Also learn to be your own grown up, Yes I mean it,  we all know growing up is hard and it makes you poor a lot of the time but know that if you work hard enough you will be able to pay for everything you’ve ever wanted without the help of your parents who have given so much to you already.  I’m not joking when I say it, learn to be a better grown up by saying no when you’re broke and know how good it feels when you pay for those travel experiences or even life experiences all by the work of your hands alone.
    All photos are from my Morocco album which can be found on the website.


    Leave a Reply