Yes

by Danielle Santacroce

Created on: May 11, 2010   Last Updated: May 12, 2010

When we are raised in a certain location, signifiers such as accents, the way we walk, talk and generally conduct ourselves are imbued on us by our parents, our interactions with those around us, teachers, friends, etc.  From our earliest moment our brains are sponges; soaking up the sights and sounds and social cues.  No one can deny that different regions, and even subdivision in certain states have their own cultures, foods, and lifestyle.

Why wouldn't those regional trademarks aid to form who we are as people and our greater world-view? This is not to say that we are completely formed by where we come from, but it is where we start. 

Our parents are our first teachers, and through them we learn how to pronounce our first words, take our first steps and through them our early exposure to the world is regulated.

As we grow and our sphere of influence widens, we learn social and moral cues from our friends.  In the Northeast, we tend to grow up fast, just like we walk and talk and I am sure in many parts of the country our extra-curricular activities would have been found appalling in other places.  

However, to us, because we were raised in the shadow of New York, in a high-paced, high drama culture (in addition to the beach-culture, which is its own phenomenon) all that we did was very normal and unquestioned.

This became intensely clear to me when I left for college in Philadelphia, and went through a culture-shock akin to being transported to another country; I mean, what is a hoagie anyway?

I realized, fully, for the first time that who we are is shaped by where we grow up since even though only two hours away, I felt light-years from home, surrounded by people who said crick instead of creek and told me I had the accent and talked funny! Now, having lived in the Philly suburbs for 6+ years, I understand the nuance differences between both locals. 

Even as adults, despite the face that most of us would like to think that who we are would not change if we moved, there is something to given to environmental influences which permeate our surroundings.

This is because we are malleable creatures, meant to change and adapt as our live warrants; were these qualities not inherently human the race itself would never have survived thus far.  

If changing, even in the slightest regards may lead to a better quality of life for our duration there, most of us unwittingly, and unknowingly do so for our own self-preservation.  

At our core many of us will be the people we have always been, shaped by our parents and the society present at that time, only changing if it is required. 

This can be something as simple as picking up an accent, which can happen without us realizing it, or as complex as reinventing our perception of daily life to take things slower or speed up depending on the situation warrants.  

We want to fit in, to feel comfortable in our new surroundings and although we would not negotiate our moral standards, we may concede on other points in order to stay true to ourselves a strange place. 

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