I’d like to do a whole series on this topic. There are so many different perspectives and examples and theories, I can’t possibly cover it all in one post! This is an age-old debate about what has the most influence on the human development: genetics or environment? I’ve always been interested in this and loved that my own life could be an experiment in this area. I have a core personality that I was born with that determined how I would react in different situations. But I have certain personality traits that I believe I learned over time through trial and error in life. But what causes us to like certain things, our preferences? For example, why do I love to watch movies? Did I inherit that or did I grow to love it because my mom loved it also. After meeting my birth mother I found out that she also loves to watch movies so I can’t say if that was inherited or learned. Another example is my mom loved to sew and was very crafty. I never liked it no matter how much she tried to get me to do it! My birth mom, on the other hand, doesn’t like it either. So is that preference inherited or was I rebelling against my mom because I didn’t like home sewn clothes? What are your thoughts on the matter? Think about your core personality and specific traits. Then take each trait and analyze whether or not you think you were born with that trait or if it was learned behavior. If you’re an adoptee and know your birth parents, give me your examples! This won’t be the last time you hear me talk about nature vs nurture… but my bottom line is that you’re in charge of who you are. Even core personality traits can’t keep you from being the person you want to be! It might be harder, but you can rise above! More to follow on that subject…