Personally, I think very few people in life are truly independent and never need help or assistance with something. As far as thriving, I know way more people that are struggling with something like their finances, health, or something else.

I think most people either get lucky early on and their lives generally go well, or they don’t get lucky early in life.

Edit: As a child, I thought life was hard but ultimately a good experience if you put in the work and did the right things. As I got older, I realized that my life is mostly bleak but with some good experiences throughout.