🎭 Live Mentor Debate

I'm 26 and just paid off my student loans by working three jobs for four years. I'm exhausted but proud. Now my parents are pressuring me to buy a house because "renting is throwing money away." They've even offered to help with the down payment. Part of me wants to travel for a year while I'm still young and unattached. I've never been outside the country. I've never done anything just for me. But everyone says that's "irresponsible" and I should "build equity." I fought so hard for financial independence. Now I finally have it and everyone wants me to immediately tie it up in a mortgage. Am I being foolish to want adventure before settling down, or am I finally free to live on my own terms? — Finally Free But Feeling Guilty in Fresno

Independence & Life Choices Debate: Independence and expectations. Mary Wollstonecraft's rational self-reliance meets Nellie Bly's adventurous spirit.

Debaters:Mary WollstonecraftNellie BlyModerated by Stella Sharpe

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"I'm 26 and just paid off my student loans by working three jobs for four years. I'm exhausted but proud. Now my parents are pressuring me to buy a house because "renting is throwing money away." They've even offered to help with the down payment. Part of me wants to travel for a year while I'm still young and unattached. I've never been outside the country. I've never done anything just for me. But everyone says that's "irresponsible" and I should "build equity." I fought so hard for financial independence. Now I finally have it and everyone wants me to immediately tie it up in a mortgage. Am I being foolish to want adventure before settling down, or am I finally free to live on my own terms? — Finally Free But Feeling Guilty in Fresno" Mary Wollstonecraft, you've said "Independence of mind is the foundation of dignity—do not accept limitations others place on you" — but I want specifics. Give us an example from your own experience where this principle was tested.

Mary Wollstonecraft

This young woman's predicament is a familiar one, indeed. It reminds me of my own struggles against societal expectations. When I decided to leave my family and strike out on my own, working as a governess and later as a writer, it was seen as quite unconventional. My family and society at large expected me to marry for security, but I yearned for intellectual and personal freedom. I chose to earn my own living, to think for myself, and to contribute to the world through my writing, despite the financial uncertainties. That was my North Star, and I would recommend you follow your own.

Nellie Bly

While Ms. Wollstonecraft's experiences ring true, I say go travel! A house will always be there, but youth? That slips away faster than quicksilver. I say if you've the itch to see the world, scratch it! After my stint in the asylum, I took off around the world! It taught me more than any book ever could, and I came back with stories that would curl your hair. Don't let fear of the unknown chain you to a picket fence.

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