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Journaling Prompts
Independent Woman: What does independence mean to you, particularly as a woman? Do you feel dependent on the men in your life, or healthily interdependent? Did you learn to be independent, or not, from your parents' relationship? Have your relationships with the men in your life changed, and why?
All the single ladies: If you're unattached now, how important is it for you to find a mate? Are you comfortable being alone? What things in your life do you believe would fundamentally change with a partner? If you're married or in a relationship, is there anything you miss about being single? What are the best and worst things about being in a couple. Do you ever set up your friends, or have you been on the receiving end of a setup?
Liberation: How did the Women's Lib movement impact your life if at all? Did you live through those times, or did you come to explore feminism later? Do you think of yourself as a feminist or not? What strides have women working for Women's rights made that change your life today...voting...'equal pay'...the breaking of glass ceilings?
Uniqueness and individuality: What makes you unique? Are you proud of what makes you different, or is it a source of shame for you? Were you ever teased or mocked because of something that makes you 'different'? Did those experiences make you more stronger and more independent or proud of your uniqueness? Is there such a thing as weird?
Money: Are you self-supporting? Do you struggle with your financial condition? How has your relationship with money changed over the years? Is there such a thing as 'enough' money? Does your income define who you are in any way, or your profession? Has anyone ever held you 'hostage' over finances, or has it been a dividing line in an intimate relationship.
Holding on or letting go: Is there now, or has there been any tension between holding on or letting go of something or someone? if you have children, how do you manage the balance between allowing them to fly free and keeping them safe? What, if anything, do you cling to to feel secure? Does this reflect your level of personal independence? How might you let go to feel more free?
Music
Quotes
Communication is a continual balancing act, juggling the
conflicting needs for intimacy and independence. To survive in the world, we
have to act in concert with others, but to survive as ourselves, rather than
simply as cogs in a wheel, we have to act alone. Deborah Tannen
Declaring independence was the most traumatic decision I had
to live up to. Because I didn't want to do it. Ian Smith
Divorce is a declaration of independence with only two
signers. Gerald F. Lieberman
I am in favor of carrying out the Declaration of
Independence to women as well as men. Women having to suffer the burdens of
society and government should have their equal rights in it. They do not
receive their rights in full proportion. Leland Stanford
I can assure you, that the gallant hearts that throb beneath
its sacred folds, will only be content, when this glorious banner is planted
first and foremost in the coming struggle for out independence. John B. Hood
I cannot compromise or inhibit my independence. Walter
Annenberg
I knew that collaborating on songwriting would be difficult
for a lot of people, because I was known very much, for my independence and the
fact that I wrote these quirky songs that were not typical structure, not
typical sound - you know, really original stuff. Liz Phair
I know of no country in which there is so little
independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America. Alexis
de Tocqueville
I think the girl who is able to earn her own living and pay
her own way should be as happy as anybody on earth. The sense of independence
and security is very sweet. Susan B. Anthony
I was allowed to wander where I could. Here is a case in
which you search for your independence and allow something creative to come out
of that. George Woodcock
I was born with a fierce need for independence. Michelle
Williams
If money is your hope for independence you will never have
it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of
knowledge, experience, and ability. Henry Ford
Impatience is the mark of independence, not of bondage. Marianne
Moore
In the progress of personality, first comes a declaration of
independence, then a recognition of interdependence. Henry Van Dyke
Independence
doesn't mean you decide the way you want. Stephen Breyer
Independence
I have long considered as the grand blessing of life, the basis of every
virtue; and independence I will ever secure by contracting my wants, though I
were to live on a barren heath. Mary Wollstonecraft
Independence
is all very well, but we animals never allow our friends to make fools of
themselves beyond a certain limit; and that limit you've reached. Kenneth
Grahame
Independence
is happiness. Susan B. Anthony
Independence?
That's middle class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul
of us on earth. George Bernard Shaw
Injustice in the end produces independence. Voltaire
Instead of being taught independence, energy, and
enterprise, our youth today is taught to look for security. B. Carroll Reece
It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God it
shall be my dying sentiment, independence now and independence forever. Daniel
Webster
Let women issue a declaration of independence sexually, and
absolutely refuse to cohabit with men until they are acknowledged as equals in
everything, and the victory would be won in a single week. Victoria Woodhull
Louis Braille created the code of raised dots for reading
and writing that bears his name and brings literacy, independence, and
productivity to the blind. Bob Ney
Mad, adj. Affected with a high degree of intellectual
independence. Ambrose Bierce
Mickey Mouse is, to me, a symbol of independence. He was a
means to an end. Walt Disney
My mother gave me a sense of independence, a sense of total
confidence that we could do whatever it was we set out to do. That's how we
were raised. Robin Wright Penn
Nature has never read the Declaration of Independence. It
continues to make us unequal. Will Durant
Originality is independence, not rebellion; it is sincerity,
not antagonism. George Henry Lewes
Perhaps my problem in marriage-and it is the problem of many
women-was to want both intimacy and independence. It is a difficult line to
walk, yet both needs are important to a marriage. Hedy Lamarr
The four cornerstones of character on which the structure of
this nation was built are: Initiative, Imagination, Individuality and Independence. Eddie
Rickenbacker
The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots
of responsibility and the wings of independence. Denis Waitley
The morals of yesterday are no more. They are as dead as the
day they were lived. Economic independence has put woman on exactly the same
footing as man. Norma Shearer
The most unpardonable sin in society is independence of
thought. Emma Goldman
The toddler craves independence, but he fears desertion. Dorothy
Corkville Briggs
No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies
your right to grow. Alice Walker
To find in ourselves what makes life worth living is risky
business, for it means that once we know, we must seek it. Marsha Sinetar
A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher,
though, awakens your own expectations. Patricia Neal
Winning has always meant much to me, but winning friends has
meant the most. Babe Didrikson Zaharias
You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's
initiative and Independence. Abraham Lincoln
If money is your hope for independence you will never have
it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of
knowledge, experience, and ability. Henry Ford
Your child will be better prepared to tackle the bumps on
the road of life if he has been given the gift of guided independence. Jacquie
McTaggart
To safeguard democracy the people must have a keen sense of
independence, self-respect, and their oneness. Mahatma Gandhi
Independence
is my happiness, and I view things as they are, without regard to place or
person; my country is the world, and my religion is to do good. Thomas Paine
It's easy to be independent when you've got money. But to be
independent when you haven't got a thing -- that's the Lord's test. Mahalia
Jackson
If we value independence, if we are disturbed by the growing
conformity of knowledge, of values, of attitudes, which our present system
induces, then we may wish to set up conditions of learning which make for
uniqueness, for self-direction, and for self-initiated learning. Carl Rogers
Those who really desire to attain an independence, have only
set their minds upon it, and adopt the proper means, as they do in regard to
any other object which they wish to accomplish, and the thing is easily done.
P.T. Barnum
Many a revolution started with the actions of a few. Only 56
men signed the Declaration of Independence. A few hanging together can lead a
nation to change. Wynton Marsalis
Men say they love independence in a woman, but they don't
waste a second demolishing it brick by brick. Candice Bergen
Men spend their whole lives showing that they're strong and
silent. They fight for independence the way women struggle to connect. George
Weinberg
