Do We Grow Up to Be Like Our Parents?

Are we a product of our genetics or a product of our surroundings? How much does our upbringing contribute to who we become. Perhaps our genetics contributes to both our potential and our limitations, setting boundaries to what we might or might not become. Arguably, some of us will never have the height to be a professional basketball player or the mass to be a professional football player. However, within the context of our genetic foundation, we are still impacted by early fetal development, early childhood exposure and the wide range of experiences along the way to adulthood.

If you assume that the above is true, how then can you explain why we grow up to be so much like our parents? Is it a figment of our imaginations that we find ourselves thinking and saying many of the same things that our parents do? Is it genetics that causes us to end up susceptible to so many of the same foibles? Or is it just that we grow to appreciate so much that our parents were and taught us and, in belated fashion, repeat their lessons in our lives as a form of tribute to their years of care and companionship? I, for one, think my old man was an amazingly compassionate, generous and upstanding guy and I am happy for every bit of moral fiber that I may have derived over the years, whether learned or genetic.