Expectations or Environment Revisited

 Are we products of our expectations or environment? 

When I originally was thinking about this question I thought that we were products of our expectations. I thought that no matter if your environment is good or bad you can work around that to achieve the expectations that you set for yourself or that someone else sets for you. I believed that people can overcome their environment. I still think this is true to an extent. The environment you have can be changed, but so can the expectations.

My home town, the environment I grew up in

Now when I reconsider this, I think that our environment plays very heavily into our expectations. Our expectations originate from our environment. For example, my parents raised me to believe I can do the impossible with my life. My environment at home was loving and extremely supportive, but my parents did not go easy on me, they had expectations that came from the extremely supportive environment that they were creating. They taught me that if I worked hard and had passion they would support me endlessly and I could do anything I set my mind to. Although this does cause me to overwhelm myself with pressure, it has also helped me to be pretty successful in my life. Because of this hard-working mindset that was instilled into me, I was able to do very well in school and achieve a UC Davis internship at age 16. My parents raised me in an environment that expected hard work, and a lot of drive. Without this, I would probably not be where I am today. If my environment was different I would maybe not work as hard or have the same values. 

2018 with my family

Had my parents not created such a supportive environment for me, my expectations would have been lower. They set up an environment that let me be able to thrive and do my best, I feel as though I would be in a completely different place without them. Without them behind me, I know I would not have been able to achieve as much. 

2022 vacation with family

I now believe that we are products of our environment. The environment that you are in shapes you. Our environments are influencing us every day, they give us successes and challenges, we are just as important to our environment as it is to us. I do still believe that it is possible to overcome your environment. Wes Moore did that in some sort of fashion. His mother recognized that the streets of the Bronx were not a good enough environment for him. She shipped him off to military school, a demanding and extreme environment. Here he thrived and has been very successful. Changing your environment is not cheap or simple. It is in no way achievable for everyone to do when they need to. Overall I do believe that expectations determine who we are, but those originate from our environment. Therefore the environments we are in places an extreme importance on who we end up being and how our lives go. Our environments are always influencing us whether we are aware of it or not.