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I have always found myself to be an independent person, and figured that it just was a part of my personality and how I was raised. I came to find that Americans seem way more independent then the Chinese, at least from childhood through college years. While visiting with a Chinese student she asked me if I had a job. I replied that I work during the school year and have a full time job in the summer time. I asked if she had a job, and she said that she doesn't she relies on her parents a lot. She said that I was very independent to work and pay for school on my own.
I just assumed that Chinese students worked while in school just as most Americans, because the college tuition is very expensive. I later realized that the Chinese students attend school in the summer time and on weekends so there is little time to work. The Chinese also use the work unit concept in which they basically have all accommodations necessary right where they go to school, it isn't necessary to have to go outside for necessities. In this sense it doesn't seem that Chinese need to work, because their parents support them to go to school and the school offers all the necessities needed. Chinese culture also has a law for having only one child so parents are probably more able to support the child, even while in school, compared to in America where families consist of many children.