Independence is the ability to live without requiring anybody’s help and to be autonomous. This value is often associated with freedom (cf liberty).

To become independent you have to go through a whole process, this isn’t something you can do in just a day. For example, children learn to be independent when they grow up: little by little, they learn how to do things on their own without their parents' help and when they become adults they’re fully independent. Some people become independant quicker than others.

Being independent also means being able to go without anybody’s influence and authority.

One can become independent in many different ways according to one’s vision of what personnal freedom means : for example, some people don’t want to get married because they think that getting married means depending on your husband or wife, other people think that in order to be independent you have to be your own boss, some teenagers think that in order to be totally independent they have to get their driver's licence to be able to go wherever they want on their own and to get a job.

To be independent you must have the capabilities necessary to do things and not require someone else’s help.

Some people consider independence as absolutely necessary and want to be fully independent and to never need other people’s help. According to them, needing and asking for help is a sign of weakness.

Even if some are more independent than others, we have to remember that no one can be totally independent, we will always need someone because we do not posses all the knowledge and capabilities of the world.