Why are you who you are? Have your adult personality & preferences (interests hobbies) evolved based mostly on how you were raised, childhood influences? Is it more a matter of more recent influences? Or a little of both?

Who or what things were most influential?

ya nothing's influenced me either

When I was a child, my mother would say,
at ANY complaint/question I had, "Well,
we both know you are smart enough to
figure that out yourself.."

I took this as gospel.
Made me who I am.

Now, my sister, it was always "Help your
sister, we all know she can't
do it herself.."
She still needs help.

Methinks parents are the biggest
early influence.

definitely my parents

they modeled responsibility and integrity and taught me the reality of choices, consequences, and putting action to your words,,,,(consistency)

they also stayed DILIGENTLY on top of our education, involved with working with us at home everyday to teach us how to comprehend and use logic instead of just going with the flow or jumping to conclusions


my parents will always be the most awesome people I have ever known

Ya, parents can also do some undermining.
I always think families should be the
cheerleaders.
There are enough peeps in one's life
ready and able to tear you down.

For me, it never, EVER occurred to me
that there was anything I could not do.
Whereas my sister, 2 years older, still
requires looking after.

Although my parents laid a solid foundation, my present personality and preferences evolved during the transition period from adolescent to adulthood and are based on the the choices I made during those early adult years....

Everything and everyone has in one way or another contributed to making me the a**hole I am today. :P

Ain't it the truth!!

True story indeed. :)

Parents, my sisters, friends, Captain Kangaroo.

From grade school, I learned patience, hard work, and that if I worked within existing power structures, that everything was possible, and justice would triumph.

In high school, I learned computer programming from a neighbor, and that I was superior to almost all of the teaching staff, and that the world was full of idiots but that I would be successful.

I college, I learned I was invincible and in the inevitable triumph of good over evil.

In family life, I learned that my life consisted of working and changing diapers; that truth shall set me free, that blood is thicker than water, love never fails and your children are yours forever.

In time, I learned that all these truths were false.

More recently, I learned that God's will isn't executed with his divine hand, but rather by my own and those like me. I learned that all can be lost, and that unfairness and loss unite us all. I learned empathy for my fellow man and how to fail with grace. I learned not to root my self esteem in the approval of others.

And I learned that tomorrow never comes and that I have only a succession of todays and to make the most of them.

Awwww.
It is good though, to be able to decipher what
the good and bad influences on your life are...
and make adjustments.
Parents often have agendas, to make their kids
like themselves.
I've not seen that work.

basically,
i've done the opposite of what i've seen the whole world do.

I forgot to mention b has influenced me in ways I didn't know possible.

(Is that okay, b? I think I wrote it the way you wanted it)

oh dear,
and here i thought our private lessons were done.

Mr. Green Jeans.

I was raised in a place, and around people who believed and made me think that women were to be submissive, gentle, dependent creatures who did nothing but performed domestic duties.
However, that made me form the opinion, that.. that was a load of total and complete ********. So in turn, I ended up pretty much the opposite.

thats a shame, that you were taught such a thing

Of the people who are not my biological relatives, the person who has influenced me the most was a 6-year-old girl living on another continent.

Were it not for her, I would have given up on living a long time ago.

Were it not for her, I wouldn't have met my late wife.

Were it not for her, I wouldn't have established a bond with my princess, whom I adopted last year.

That little girl will be age 24 next month.