Colleen brought up a very interesting point to me recently. I can't restate what she said word for word, but I can summarize/paraphrase it quite well:
People seem to be stuck with the mentality that was last significant to them. For example, if a high schooler doesn't move on to college, they seem to be stuck with a high school mentality in life, which usually entails a dramatic approach to life.
I've given this initially-overlooked concept some time in the ol' B3 Thinking Cap. My take on the idea:
Personal attitude, lifestyle, and mentality are developed over the course of a lifetime - in other words, ever-changing. It's not uncommon, however, for these aspects of a person to conform to some general standard over some period of time - which can be loosely called "personality." As human beings are social creatures, it is no surprise that our most social situations can sharply define how our personality evolves.
Colleen is, for the most part, dead on. We evolve from stage to stage - our early years as children are defined by carefree playtime, from which we must learn discipline and responsibility. During our high school years, we learn the full spectrum of social interaction possibilities, after which we must learn to obey societal mores. In college we discover true independence, and must quickly learn to become respectful citizens and self-discovering individuals. After college, we begin our self-defined path, and must learn that we never... well, stop learning.
And therein, I think, lies the heart of Colleen's statement. For as individual as every person wants to be, it really takes a full path of education, social interaction, and a variety of experiences to gain the insight that we are greatly influenced by who we surround ourselves with. Major milestones of our lives, such as those outlined above, can have a profound effect on the type of people we are.
Well said, Colleen.
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