The "nature Vs Nurture" Debate

THE "NATURE VS NURTURE" DEBATE

The million dollar question on any new parent's mind is, will our new addition take after mommy, daddy, neither, or both? It seems only time can tell but yet there has been a divided opinion over this issue of human personality ever since thought was first given to it. Some would argue that a newborn is like a blank sheet of paper on which the environment writes therefore it is the quality of nurture that determines the ultimate personality. Others have argued with equal conviction that personality is determined genetically through the immediate parents and ancestors therefore nature is the controlling factor. In the following essay I will take two important aspects in my life which are the childhood memories of my beloved grandmother and as weird as it may sound, my love for food. Both aspects are geared toward my personality and self-esteem. I will explain and discuss my choices in reference to the ongoing debate of Nature vs. Nurture by trying to analyze the genetic and environmental contributions on both aspects of my life the best possible way I can.

As I just mentioned, I have always had vivid and lucid memories of my grandmother and remembering her as one of the toughest people I knew. She was born in 1917 during the World War I Era and lived through the duration of World War II. Grandma also survived the Great Depression alongside others throughout the nation. She was forced to endure the horrible days when women had no liberal rights. My grandmother witnessed seventeen different Presidents in office. Sadly, she also lived through the devastation of 9/11. My grandmother was a devoted Christian. She never missed church service and you could expect to see me sitting right up front with her every Wednesday and Sunday. She was widowed at a very young age, but was still able to maintain a home with five children. Even though two of the children were not maternally hers, she loved and cared for them as if they were her own. In my eyes that was very honorable. It showed her strong moral values and her tremendous character.

Most of my favorite memories of my grandmother are the times I visited her during the summer. I grew up in a small East Texas Town, and my grandmother lived in an even smaller town in South Texas which is practically in Mexico. This was about an eight hour long drive, however, I did not mind it one bit because I knew the fun that awaited me. I used to go down and stay with my grandmother for months at a time. Some of my favorite times were on Sunday mornings when my grandmother would pick me up after Sunday school in her old Ford station wagon. Grandma would always hurry me up to change into my "outdoor" clothes which consisted of an old pair of cut up blue jeans that I never wanted to take off. We would drive down to the river, stopping at a convenience store along the way to pick up some little snack or toy. Eventually,