The way people are raised almost always affects their outlook on life. Many people who are raised in a low-income household, in a bad neighborhood with other low-income people usually tend to act a certain way because they are not exposed to much else. This is a stereotype but for the most part it is true. However as with all stereotypes there are exceptions to this rule. Their are people who are raised in high-income households with old fashioned values that inexplicably rebel from their surroundings and seek to live according to what their own desires. Money is a huge factor in deciding culture and lifestyle, however it is not the only reason behind peoples outlook and behavior as in cases were money is not as important to one individual as it is to another.

Once a persons culture is decided (this usually happens to a person during early to mid childhood, however there are always exceptions.) their life style then begins to form. The lifestyle affects the way a person acts because the persons lifestyle is who the person is. The person will emulate what they consider to be the "norm" and their values and outlook on life will also reflect the culture they were raised in. They will then act accordingly to their own views and outlooks.

As I mentioned before some people will inexplicably rebel and seek to escape the culture they were raised in and find a new one. In most people their will most likely always be some correlation between the culture they were raised in and lifestyle even if it is very small. When a persons lifestyle is actually decided they will act accordingly as seen in many trends and fads in most of todays youth. For instance people involved in what is popularly known as the "Ghetto" sub-culture will ussually try to perpetrate an image of toughness, and fearlessness. (Many times leading to illegal activities.)They will see themselves almost as martyrs and anyone else not involved in their lifestyle as inferior.

Most people who choose this sub-culture are usually born into it but there are some exceptions due to the portrayal of this lifestyle in the media. Often times kids and teenagers will see this portrayal on television or in magazines and decide they want to be a part of it, even if they were never exposed to it in a familiar basis. Their are other lifestyles and sub-cultures that follow similar patterns however They are usually not as rigidly dogmatic as this. Other more traditional cultures and lifestyles (such as people raised in high income communities with little exposure to other cultures) will also tend to approach those not so fortunate with suspicion or superiority.

As I mentioned earlier some individuals are able to inexplicably brush off the influence of their pre-determined culture and seek out another one that suits them. However this will still affect their behavior regardless. I used stereotypes to perpetrate a point however in showing that the way a person thinks and behaves is affected by many factors in their culture and lifestyle. Many times a lifestyle is almost as a code with many predetermined actions to different scenarios almost like a rulebook. As shown all these factors are very important in deciding a persons actions towards other people and towards life in general.

Learn more about this author, Erik Kalvog.
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