I had a moment this week were I realized how independent of a person I really am. Ever since I have been in college, I’ve been told “you are such a little adult” and “you’re so mature for your age”. Even my biology teacher called me the “problem solving adult of the class”. While I never understood what these statements meant and if they were in a positive or negative tone, I knew that I wasn’t like most kids my age. This past weekend my parents were in town. I was at dinner with them one night and they told me these things that I have been hearing my freshman year. I finally gave in and asked why I was told that for so long. My parents gave me the typical parental response, so likewise, I gave the typical child response; ignored them. In the past few days, this question had been eating at me. As far as I knew, I was just like any normal kid in college who makes stupid mistakes, procrastinates studying and eats junk food just because I can. How is that “mature” or being a “little adult”? The deeper I thought, I began to realize that I am not just a normal college student. I have never skipped a class, I don’t go out and party, I don’t drink (literally gag at the taste), I attend church every Sunday, I have no problem eating by myself, and I am not here to get my “MRS Degree”. I don’t mean to write this weekly artifact about how good of a person I am (I’m not perfect in any way), but I finally drew the connections between these statements and my actions. I also realized during this time that I have a ton to work on as an individual. Looking at the big picture of this realization, I have learned many things during my first time away from my parents, but there are many situations and skills that I am still in need of improvement. I think the reason this artifact was so profound for me was because I had a moment of self evaluation for not only my academic life, but for my personal life.