Independent or Interdependent?

Recently I finished reading an in-depth guide and study book on relationships (relationships of all kinds, including friendships and romantic ones, primarily the latter though) that brought up a lot for me to think about that I never seriously considered before.
One point that was brought up in The Seven Levels of Intimacy was that, though we can deny it, we as human creatures are not and were not created to be, completely independent, entirely on our own in this life, but rather, we're interdependent. We strive on close friendships and relationships with others, depending on them, trusting people, and loving them.
To me, this idea that we are meant to be interdependent was originally a bit staggering and surprising, since I've always prided myself on being somewhat of an independent person (okay, I'm far from entirely independent, but in some ways I pretty much am). What the author (by the way, Matthew Kelly, one of my favorite authors ever) meant by saying we're naturally interdependent, not independent, is that we shouldn't be an island, firmly believing we do not need anyone else. To be interdependent means we lean on others, we need others, and we trust others.
This really does make sense when you look at any single person and his or her need for emotional support, for friendship with others. So why do a lot of us insist that we're independent, we don't need others, we may even try convincing ourselves, we don't want others in close and tangible ways?
I think the main reason why we resist becoming dependent on a person  or people in general is because we know when we do that, when we choose to trust and love someone entirely, we know then we're becoming totally and undeniably vulnerable. For many to break down their walls and allow this, is a scary concept not even to be thought of. But its true. Loving someone, allowing them to trust you and you trust them means you become vulnerable and open to them, and vice-versa.
So the question is, will you make yourself vulnerable and open to others completely? I ask myself this at times, because I have made the choice to make myself so I guess, to make myself vulnerable to particular people, realizing I'm not totally independent like I may have thought before. In the past, I've trusted people, having given them total trust and love from myself. Almost just as many times I've done that, I have also been hurt, realizing when you make yourself vulnerable, that very well can  and may happen. It hurts when that love and trust given from the heart is abused, and when you have that experience, you begin to wonder if the risk of vulnerability outweighs the reward of finding someone who really loves you back, again is honestly worth it.
So the choice becomes inevitably our own. Will we choose love, trust, and vulnerability of our hearts? Will we be independent throughout our lives entirely, thinking we're perfectly okay on our own, or embrace interdependence that God made us for to experience with others, despite the potential risks it involves that we fear?


Lots of love from the heart,
~Veroni