Why being a hyper-independent woman is a problem

Destiny's Child were wrong (kind of)

If you grew up as a girl in the 70’s/80’s/90’s, there is a high probability you had it ingrained into your psyche that the goal of growing up was to become an ‘independent woman’. At first glance, this sounds like a great idea, as Beyonce and Co told us at the turn of the century:

The shoes on my feet, I bought 'em
The clothes I'm wearing, I bought 'em
The rock I'm rockin', I bought it
'Cause I depend on me if I want it

The watch I'm wearin', I bought it
The house I live in, I bought it
The car I'm driving, I bought it
I depend on me, I depend on me

I’ve spent decades building up my own life and finances, making sure I can always pay my own way and not relying on anyone for anything. This all sounds great, maybe you’ve done this too? What wasn’t mentioned in all the hit songs of our youth was being able to deal with every facet of your life, on repeat forever, is exhausting and eventually doesn’t quite fit the independent feminist mold we thought we had shaped our lives around.

Yesterday, the universe handed me three big wake-up calls, all within six hours of each other. Each one smacked me around the head like a sledgehammer to announce: Stop being so fucking independent, you cannot do everything alone.

They say things come in threes. Here’s how mine landed.