What made you who you are today?

Dungeons and Dragons. I think in terms of D&D in my day to day life.

I think my upbringing and my parents instilling a moral and a work ethic by example and yet still allowing, or rather insisting, that I develop my own self and self worth.

It was no one thing. And I don’t really see how anyone could pin their whole identity and sense of self on a single influence or factor. Maybe they can, but I doubt it.

I can certainly recognize some important contributors, though. One would be the value that my family placed on education. Another was an intensely religious upbringing, which instilled strong ethical values while turning me into an early rebel and ultimately an atheist.

No doubt the character of the sixties also had something to do with it.

And I’d guess that another was my parents’ Depression-era childhood and coming of age during World War II. Those are circumstances that mark people for life and extend their effects to their children and their children’s children.

How would you answer the question, @JeSuisRickSpringfield?

Gumption
Duct tape
Sprinkling of stardust

Hard to say how different I’d be if I’d been healthy; never got to see what kind of adult I’d be without that experience, barely even got to see what kind of teenager I was without it, but I’m quite sure my illness has been the most impactful shaping force. I had a privileged youth, and prior to age 14 I didn’t really care about anything except getting perfect grades so that I could work at NASA someday. Getting sick turned that all on its head. As far as I can tell, it changed me profoundly, but who knows what I’d be like now if I’d had a normal teenagerhood. I don’t think I would have developed nearly the sense of empathy I have now for people suffering from vulnerability of any kind, if it weren’t for being vulnerable myself.

I also want to hear @JeSuisRickSpringfield‘s answer!

At this point in my life, at 50…I would say it’s me who made me.

@Jeruba A series or collection is still a thing, and therefore an answer to a “what” question.

@Mariah I would say what made me who I am today is not being accepted into my university’s music program at the end of my second year. Most top music schools have something called “sophomore review,” which determines whether or not you can stay in the program and get a degree in whatever special focus you are pursuing. When I went up for review, I was told that I was talented enough to stay but didn’t fit the profile they wanted associated with the school.

People who failed sophomore review were essentially pariahs among music students. And in any case, I had to find a new major to complete in the two years I had left. So I lost contact with basically everyone I knew, and I had to plan an entirely new life that turned out to have almost no continuity with my previous life. I’d been pursuing this goal since I was five years old, so moving on to something else meant that the only people who would still be in my life were family.

Oh man, that sounds like a rough pill to swallow. In hindsight, are you happy with where you ended up and what you chose to pursue after that?