Nature Nurture or Me

Nature Nurture or Me

The expression "nature vs. nurture" describes the question of how much a person's characteristics are formed by either "nature" or "nurture." "Nature" means innate biological factors (namely genetics), while "nurture" can refer to upbringing or life experience more generally. The question is raised quite often on whether one aspect is more important or influential than the other. What also can be presented is what part of us is just uniquely our own. Following is just my opinions on each, mostly, though it may be slightly influenced by what I have read.

I have two daughters. Each of them were given up for adoption. While that factor is one of the nurturing things, it is pretty much the only influence that I had on each girl. Neither of my girls show any resemblance to children raised by me and my family unit, ie my nieces and nephews. My daughters have stronger personalities and are much more stable mentally. They were raised as only children pretty much, though they each had older siblings in their adoptive families. This is why, to me, nurture plays a stronger role in the development of a child.

On the other hand, nature does show up in my nieces and nephews. They have stronger social skills having been raised in a family group, and have a more stable sense of belonging. One could argue that this is also due to nurture. However I believe that is a subconscious feeling of being a part of that influenced much of their strengths. Furthermore, they followed in the footsteps of their grandfather and father and joined the military or in the footsteps of their mother and became teachers.

I believe what is "us" is the combination of nurture and nature. These two influences can manifest themselves in ways that are at first not apparent to the average person. My spiritual side comes from a long dormant influence generations old. My ancestors were Belgium Gypsies and Norwegian Druids. I literally fell into magick while looking for guidance in the new age section of a book store. I found a wonderful book that started my magickal journey into independence and enlightenment. It wasn't until years later that I found out about my heritage.

I do not believe that it should be referred to as nature vs. nurture, but rather nature and nurture. Both influences have profound effects on who we are and who we become. What results from this combination is the journey that we each take in discovering what makes up our personal personalities.


In the end it all is what makes me, ME.


Word count 437