Unique... Just like everyone else
November 14, 2016 5:20 PM Subscribe
What part of you is really you, and not part of your upbringing/culture/place in history? How do you know?
This article captures exactly what I'm getting at. As I get older, and as I parent my kid, it's so clear to me that I feel the way I do because of my upbringing. I'm conditioned to interpret and react based on my formative experiences. My likes and dislikes and values are shaped by culture. On a deep fundamental level I am what I've been taught to be.
I've tried the thought exercise: what is really me? What can I not trace back to anything else but the kernel of "me-ness" that was not conditioned by anything else. It took a long time. Honestly, only one thing came up, and even that was somewhat suspect. My family had zero interest in this topic, it wasn't really in vogue when I was a kid, but they had far adjacent interests, like a chef enjoys grocery coupons.
So I'm curious to know what you feel is truly uniquely you and did not come from your parents, how you were raised, or your environment - what about you is uniquely you? And how are you sure? Or does it even matter?
This article captures exactly what I'm getting at. As I get older, and as I parent my kid, it's so clear to me that I feel the way I do because of my upbringing. I'm conditioned to interpret and react based on my formative experiences. My likes and dislikes and values are shaped by culture. On a deep fundamental level I am what I've been taught to be.
I've tried the thought exercise: what is really me? What can I not trace back to anything else but the kernel of "me-ness" that was not conditioned by anything else. It took a long time. Honestly, only one thing came up, and even that was somewhat suspect. My family had zero interest in this topic, it wasn't really in vogue when I was a kid, but they had far adjacent interests, like a chef enjoys grocery coupons.
So I'm curious to know what you feel is truly uniquely you and did not come from your parents, how you were raised, or your environment - what about you is uniquely you? And how are you sure? Or does it even matter?
This post was deleted for the following reason: Sorry, this is chatfilter. -- LobsterMitten
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