"I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.” says Charlotte Bronte, author of the book "Jane Eyre". When reading the book, Jane’s unmatchable determinacy and her strong personality have left a lasting impression on me. In consequence, I concluded that her charisma was founded on her own exceptional self-sufficiency.

Having read about the term “self-sufficiency” on a tablet a few days ago, one’s mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a famous character. And so it came about that as I was giddy with happiness on discovering this remarkable characteristic of Jane, I began to ponder on my own ability to achieve self-sufficiency. According to the Oxford dictionary, Self-sufficiency means that your own abilities are enough to supply your needs without any external assistance. As much as I was inclined to think that I’m a self-sufficient person, countless flashbacks remind me otherwise. I saw myself struggling with math problems and having to ask my classmates for help. I saw my friend holding a bag of groceries for me because it was too heavy to carry alone. I saw myself crying to my parents at night and in turn, they are comforting me with their warm and encouraging words. I saw myself accepting help from countless others and giving others a hand when needed.

In the book, as Jane is growing up, she relies on the children’s home for shelter and food. Later in her life, she needs the money and shelter that Mr. Rochester provided. As a result, her relationship with Mr. Rochester deepens and she eventually finds love in this uneasy world.

A common phenomenon surfaces from the above examples. It seems that as we are constantly looking for help, these interactions between help-seekers and help-offerors can help to forge bonds between them. Many have thought that Jane’s unwavering elegance displayed when encountering difficult situations was due to hard work which is the fundament for self-sufficiency. Though hard work is undoubtedly crucial on our way to success, we are likely to find that as we are closer to the finish line, the obstacles we face have also upgraded along with our abilities and skills. It seems that along our way of hard work, we can never be avoided by difficulties. Instead of viewing them as roadblocks, we can see them as bridges that connect us.

Everyone is a unique individual, yet together, we form this intricate machine called society. Only if we are willing to work with each other can we really grow and improve. Complete self-sufficiency is almost impossible to achieve because that would mean that we would cut off our connections with the outside world and is fully content with our current living situation. This is a passive attitude to trade life and the canvas of our stories would be grey and white instead of rainbow-colored.

It is understood that self-sufficiency is vastly different from independence. The latter is a kind of determination to rely on oneself while the former represents the actual ability to support oneself. It is this sense of lacking in self-sufficiency that has driven us to ask for help thus improving ourselves. The difficulties that have driven us to seek help from others are the motivation that keeps us upgrading ourselves and moving forward.

The same also goes for countries around the world. Take Singapore for an example. The country mostly relies on the import of foreign goods to sustain its citizens. It even needs to import freshwater from Malaysia. The country is not self-sufficient yet it is very independent. When encountered with difficult situations, Singapore can think globally and act openly to find the best solution with the help from its connections with other countries. This situation may be labeled as vulnerable by others because, in the face of global crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic, Singapore has suffered great economic setbacks. However, it is the need for trade that has forged strong ties between Singapore and many other countries around the world. Singapore’s prestige is certainly high and its ability to remain on good terms with both China and the USA during the trade war was very impressive. Many global meetings are held in Singapore due to its neutral stand and maybe that’s why a city-state can have the soft powers as much as a large country.

Under grave situations, our communication with others is a sign of an active solution to turn things around. Hardships make us reflect on our mistakes and help us to bond with others during our search for help while also propelling us forward. We need to be independent to thrive in this competitive world, a world where total self-sufficiency deters our chances of survival.