Lords of the Land

“You better count your blessings,

kiss your Mom and Pop.

You better burn that flag,

’cause it ain’t against the law.”

“Who Needs You” – The Orwells

 

It’s been five weeks of being an off-campus student, and navigating my new life has not come simply, nothing served to me in familiar, easy bites. Thus far, living off campus has been one big game of finding balance. In this case, the balance is between filling child and adult roles, due to one huge detail of my living situation–I share the house with my landlords.

In many cases, college students have never lived with older folks that weren’t their parent(s) or guardian(s). Some students may live close, or even next door to, their landlord, but I share the kitchen, garage, and conversation with mine. It’s a tricky dynamic to navigate, so it’s worthy to break down.

They purchase necessities like toilet paper and hand soap, but I (along with my two graduate-level housemates) am responsible for keeping our bathroom functional and clean. They greet me before breakfast and offer suggestions on how to dress for the weather, but (literally) at the end of the day, I must make sure I get home safely, must take care of myself. Though the natural tendency–mine, at least–is to treat them like parents, I have to catch myself. They’ve already had children, cleaned up messes, repaired mistakes, paid bills. Their children are grown now, one with a child of her own. I’m not another child to them, so I can’t behave like one.

What it comes down to is that I must follow their rules, but I also get to make my own. I govern myself, keep tabs my health, and make sure I get to class on time. I’m paying for that freedom, month by month.

This tune by The Orwells, though seemingly directed at America as a whole, is a funky way to think about independence. Throughout the song, the singer illustrates the back-and-forth that exists in between exercising autonomy and staying in legal line. For literati, the band’s name is also an interesting feature, curiously reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984, the novel documenting the government’s “big brother” approach to monitoring citizens at a distance. That being said, rock out (and behave), readers. It might not be your landlords, but someone’s always watching.