Independence.

No, this isn’t a blog about July 4th.

I mentioned in my last blog that my parents were out of town this weekend. I just spoke to them on the phone, they’re on their way back. Yes, i’m 26 years old and i still live with my parents. Where i’m from, it’s nothing to frown upon. It’s the norm. And yes, you guessed it. I live in Asia.

I like it whenever they go away for a time and leave me all alone in the house. Well, as alone as i can be with my brother and our helpers. But since i am eldest they leave things up to me. And i find that i like that sense of freedom and independence. Since they are generous enough to fund all my expenses, i try to respect their rules. Although i find it unreasonable sometimes, because i am 26 already. They still treat me like i’m in high school sometimes — curfews, allowances, and sometimes scolding me for watching tv instead of studying, or for sleeping late (hey, i study until dawn, i think i’m allowed to sleep late, thank you very much). And i hate that they — and by that i mean my controlling mother — critisize my clothes, the way i dress, my weight. I’m taller than the average asian (i’m 5′6″) and chubbier too (like i’d tell you my weight). So almost all my friends are smaller than i am. But if i were living in a western country, i’d probably be the norm.

Anyway, sometimes i just want to graduate and get a good job that pays well just so i can leave home and set up things on my own. I mean, we could probably afford to invest on a condo unit, but i don’t think my parents would allow me (i hate that word, allow). I’m getting envious of friends whose houses are far from the city that they have to get condos of their own. Me, i live within the Metro and i have my own car. A new one at that, so i shouldn’t really complain. But it sucks that although i have a car, i can’t really go out just because i want to without asking for permission — another word that i hate. 

I do have friends though who, although they also live with their parents, can just come and go as they please. I call these the “cool, modern” parents. My parents are conservative. Not strict conservative, just enough to annoy the hell out of me. I mean, i have counsins who got married at an early age just because they got pregnant. And some who just got pregnant while in high school. I seldom drink, I don’t smoke, i have no plans of doing drugs, and i’m not having sex (yes, I’m a virgin — their doing with that conservative upbringing, with a little bit of Catholic school influence). And probably because i never met i anyone i liked enough to lose my virginity to. Remember, i’ve never been drunk my whole life. And with the way things are going –  as in, busy with law school, no night outs — i don’t think that will change in the near future.