~ “The rainstorm and the river are my brothers/ The heron and the otter are my friends/ And we are all connected to each other/ In a circle, in a hoop that never ends” (Pocahontas) ~
Your environment is more
than the landscapes around you . . .
It is the province you live in . . .
the country you are patriotic towards . . .
the house you grew up in . . .
the hobbies that become a part of your life . . .
the teammates in sports . . .
the job where you earn money . . .
the school you go to . . .
the times you have stood up in front of a crowd . . .
It is all of these things, and more, combined, that influence your identity.
Even after debating the topic of whether environment or genetics influences identity the most, I still believe environment has the most significant influence on the person you become. The debate itself was pretty good, and the points made for the “pro” and “con” side were fairly equal. I think if this debate were done a little later on in the year, after learning about genetics in Biology, my partner and I would have had a lot more trouble proving our side. This is because none of us realized that genes contribute to our physical appearance, mental and emotional state as well. Even so, it is still more important to explore those traits we are all born with within our surroundings. It is after many years of living that it becomes evident that your environment and the experiences that go with it shape the person you are.
I recently had an interview with the Aquatics Director at the University of Saskatchewan to get a job for when I attend school in the fall. She asked a lot of questions about the things I enjoy doing and my past experiences, to get a better idea of the person I am, from what she couldn’t gather from the things on my resume. She was interested in the way I view the place I have grown up in, because it is the setting for all of my experiences. Not once did she say, “What genes did you inherit from your parents that contribute to the decisions you have made?”. That is too unrealistic. The information that is important about my life is the places and people that surround me, that have influenced me in significant ways.
I remember a movie from my childhood that has the message of environment influencing the person you are. This clip from the movie, Pocahontas, shows the importance of being in tune with your surroundings rather than focusing on what you look like and how you act. It is the animals, people, and landscapes that help you develop your feelings and knowledge, not what you are born as.
A person’s identity is not influenced by genetics, passed on from generations. . .
It is Environment!
*Check out what my debate partner, Krysta thinks, as well as the “Pro-Genetics” students, Chantelle and Brennan *
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