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Living with Your Family or by Yourself
There are big differences between living with my family and living by myself. I lived with my family until I was twenty-three years old; then I went to Japan to study. Now I think that living with my family in my country has so many responsibilities and subjects me to a lot of parental control which can be seen as typical in Asian families: they are influenced by Confucianism. On the other hand, when we live by ourselves or with a roommate, we have to control ourselves and respect other people's privacy. Even though I had my own room when I lived with my family, I didn't have as much privacy as I do now that I live alone. Of course, my parents were not too strict; however, I had to be careful about every aspect of my behavior because in my country, people usually think children's faults or problems they create are caused by bad education by their families. Sometimes I have to consider other family members' opinions because in my country, a family can be a very big group. It can even include an uncle's family. For example, I like to have long hair, but my uncle doesn't like it, he can tell me to get my hair cut even if long hair doesn't bother anybody. Such kinds of things are very common in my country if we live with our families. I lived in Japan for four years by myself, and at that time I enjoyed my life because no one interfered in my personal life. Indeed, I was responsible for my own behavior. I could do anything as long as it didn't disturb other people and was acceptable to my social conscience. Now I live with a roommate in an apartment. I have never lived with other people before, so it has been very difficult learning how to live with other people without any conflicts. My roommate has a different cultural background, so I always have to be careful not to disturb his privacy. Sometimes it is a really wonderful situation when roommates have different nationalities and languages. If I cannot understand his language, I don't have to worry about invading his privacy when he talks with his friends and family. I would like to live alone if I had enough money. However, I am enjoying living with my roommate even if I need to endeavor not to disturb his privacy. I am learning how to live with other people and to manage myself when I share an apartment.
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