Dating Myself: Day 4

Happy In-Dependence day?!

Today, I spent it in the company of my family and it was glorious. Home cooked meal, two movie rentals and light rain outside made it merely impossible to complain about my 4th of July this year. The Films, which kept us entertained as the raindrops tapped the windowpanes were both very interesting- to say the least. We wound up renting She's out of my league and Youth in Revolt and had a lot of laughs. Now clearly, I have been dog paddling through the shallow waters of my mind into the deeper corners of theory so it was no surprise that amidst the dry Michael Cera humor and one-liners I began to see the movies in a much deeper light. It was non-coincidental that both of the films chosen to watch during the celebration of our Nation's independence ( which is arguable) relayed a message of

In-Dependence

She's out of my league focused primarily on the insecurities most people face when trying to measure up to their crush/mate. Where Youth in revolt focused on the power of dependency that can cause one to do stupid, illegal or dangerous acts- all for the sake of love.

What is it that causes us to depend on others, even if in the slightest? We measure ourselves up to the ridiculous Western standards of beauty, assume that we cannot go anywhere unaccompanied and force ourselves to adapt to a particular subculture . I speak for myself when I say that There is no such thing as complete INDEPENDENCE. Whether you like it or not, We all have some form of dependence. Even the radical-rage-against-the-machine-non-conformist types are still depending on non-conformity to base their behaviors on.

So, the question still stands: What causes us to depend on others for our own happiness?