Are we a product of our environment or expectations?

 Are we a product of our environment or products of our expectations?

The only thing that separates the two is choice, you could live in the worst environment and still become successful just by being dedicated and motivated to having a different path. That’s why I believe that we are products of our expectations because when people put their expectations on you, you make it your own. Wes stated that, “We do what others expect us to get a job, we will get a job. If they expect us to go to jail, then that’s where we will end up too. At some point you lose control” I resonated with this because it is the life I live now. Everyone has an expectation for me whether it’s family, friends, etc. From my family they place their expectations on me whether good or bad such as college. My mom expected me to go to college and earn my degree, anything other than that was seen as a failure in her eyes because she believed that that was only way you could be successful in life is with a degree. Even though I was already fixated on going to college anyway, her expectation influenced me to stay on that path and also made me think that was the only way to be successful as-well. Her expectation made me think of  life as a one way straight path, and of course I didn’t want to disappoint my mom so that is the path I stood with. Someone that has an expectation of you, can be a burden as the it can have a strong impact on you. You are unable to have free will as you won’t be thinking for yourself but for other people, you will start to live off of other people’s judgement. On the other hand, being a product of your environment to me is more of a choice. You don’t have to be a product of your environment, you can have different views, talk differently, etc your environment doesn’t have to shape who you are as a person. For example I grew in what people would call the “ghetto” or “lower class” living in those neighborhoods people always has their expectations thinking it was “dangerous”,“unsafe”, and “dirty”. Their expectation for the kids is much worse as they think most will end up in jail, dead, or selling drugs. But these expectations didn’t define who we were as many of especially ones who graduated from high school not only graduated college but created businesses and achieved other great things. One way to not be a product of someone’s expectation is to have your own aspiration and goals, and sticking to them. Sometimes parents often live their dreams through their children, hence why they pass on heavy expectations to their kids. It is best to avoid this as everything you do will become for them resulting in losing yourself.