What Made Me the Person that I Am

Since the beginning of the world, people tried to figure out the meaning of life, the reasons for which they were born, and the complexity of their existence. A part of this vast topic constitutes the “making” of a person. I hardly ever asked myself the question from this paper’s title, but now, as I was invited to, I find it very challenging.

Would I have been different if I would have had a different life? What if I have been born in Spain or China, instead of Romania? How would I have been if I would have been born as a boy?

I guess that my life is what made me the person that I am. Sounds simple, but in fact is an extremely complicated issue. All the little details and experiences of my life are what shaped and changed me, even though I did not feel the changes taking place within me. It is only through comparing who I am now to whom I was before, that I realize that, amazingly enough, I have changed. I am the result of a very difficult to decipher formula of my life.

At this moment, what defines me most is my personality. I would rather let somebody else describe me, but I have to acknowledge who I am, in order to understand the process of my becoming. I am a tolerant, eager to discover and experience new experiences, friendly, open, adaptable and “smart enough” person. There are many factors contributing to the forming of somebody’s personality, and some of the most accepted ones are: the biological heritage, the family, the culture of the society the person lives in, the experience of the person’s social group, his/her personal life experience etc.

I think that my biological heritage affected my physical appearance, and more or less my intelligence. Many scientists adhere to the concept of “tabula rasa”, and so do I.. Every healthy person is born without any knowledge about his/her surroundings. What comes after is important.

My memory does not help me much in my efforts of recalling my growing-up. Only vague image slides go through my mind when I try to remember aspects from my childhood: me, climbing the pecan tree from the back of the yard, my father playing chess with me, my dogs and their playfulness…I still like to climb the trees (even if they became too small for me), to play chess with my father, and to play with the descendants of the “old time” dogs. My mother taught me (or at least tried very hard to) some “womanish” skills, like: cooking, washing, taking care of the domestic chores, hence now, I am the proud possessor of them. My parents are old fashion, traditional people, with strong morals. This is how they raised me, and I am surprised to find out sometimes that, since the society’s values changed, I became old fashioned, too.

My childhood friends were wonderful. They were always there when I was looking for them, willing to play anything that I was suggesting, staying with me until late in the evening, when all our parents were trying very hard to bring us to our beds. I found out later in life that it was not all as “peachy” as I was thinking, but merely because of the status of my family in the community (professors, Mayer). Needless to say, the children’s attitude towards me had a positive impact on the way I was perceiving myself: likeable. I still believe that I am a pleasant, friendly and likeable person.

I grew up in the country side, therefore, now, when I live in the city, I miss the closeness feeling of the people from the village, and their concern with everybody else. I hardly know my neighbors now, and I believe they do not know much about me either. There is no time, nor interest for socializing “around”. Sometimes, when I am smiling to a neighbor or to their children, I feel their tension raising. In their eyes I am a suspicious, too friendly person. So, unfortunately, I had to suppress these behaviors, and to adapt to the cold, too rapidly moving city life. Each time I visit my parents’ house from the country side, I feel “at home”. All the familiar and comfortable smells, colors, shapes, noises, and the people I know. I feel like a child again, happy and worriless. The problem is that I am not a child anymore, but an adult with many responsibilities, just because I had to grow up.