Money Relations

My Relationship With Money

My relationship with money is pretty sad. Currently my primary source of income comes from mooching off of my mother, quite impressive, I know. Right now, I feel that's okay though. My food is already payed for, I don't have a car, and I have no medication I need to buy, my need for money is at an all time low. The most expensive aspect of my life would be personal entertainment. If I could find a way to keep my self entertained for free, I would barely have a need for money at all.
In the past, however, I have had quite a different relationship with money. I was the first and only child to have a legal job during high school amongst my siblings. I began working at 15 for a summer camp over the summer, the next summer I worked as a landscaper in Aspen, Colorado, my junior year in high school I began working at a local pizza shop, where I worked until I left for college, finally last year I worked as a research assistant for Jennifer Tilton. These are all times in my life where I felt that I needed a source of income in order to make myself happy.
When critically looking at the reasons I first decided to join the workforce, a large theme continuously reappears. My father left my family when I was 13, and the vacuum of structure that resulted from this greatly warped my mind. I began to demand much more independence from my mother almost instantly after my father left, this coupled with the changes my body were going through led me to believe that freedom could only be reached economically. I felt that I could talk and think about being independent all I wanted, but to go out and be independent means to get a job, make money, and buy the things you want with it.
Living 2000 miles away from the place I grew up in has greatly changed my views on independence now, which in turn has changed my relationship with money. I feel that being alone and living in an environment where I am the master of my domain declares my independence, not whether or not I make money. Sure there are plenty of things I could spend money on, but I am just as comfortable, not working and not acquiring them.