You Can't Pick Your Family's Nose

We didn't ask to be born. We "wake up" one day, and spend the rest of our lives trying to come to terms with the reality that surrounded us.

Our parents didn't ask for us to be born, either. Even if they wanted to have children at the time we were conceived, they couldn't pick who we would be.

No matter where you stand on the nature vs. nurture debate, who will deny that people inherit traits and tendencies from their family? Even children who are given up for adoption carry on their birth family's legacy.

As we get older we can choose not to interact with certain members of our family; even our entire family, but we can never really disown them completely. They are us, and we are them. How many people who run away from their family are ultimately trying to run away from themselves?

Our inheritance is the clay that gets molded by our experiences. We can not change the clay, but we can choose to mold it into a mudpie or a beautiful vase. Your family may be responsible for your traits and tendencies, but the only person who is responsible for what you've become is you...