So before I go OFF, and I mean off on a long, earthshaking rant post… I need to explain my post’s title. Nature vs. nurture is the decrepitly ancient debate of whether a person is the direct result of their childhood and life experiences or the carbon copy of previous generations. The average human (Joe Shmoe) believes that we are a mild combination of both. We may have our mother’s smile, but that super serious car accident we survived at age 10, made us a cautious teen driver. So, Shmoe, you have an inkling of where I’m going with this… am I the (perpetually perfect, intelligent and witty) person I am today because of my upbringing or genetics? Was I predisposed to succeed or fail? Or was the succeed gene learned overtime?
Now the McKinney part. McKinney, Texas, a vibrant and growing community of more than 100,000 north of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, used to be a cotton town. Home to bandits like Bonnie and Clyde on occasion, the small McKinney square was the place for farmers and peaceful folk (see above). This is where I was raised.
After a fascinating reunion with McKinney this past week, I have decided that I was blessed to be a part of such a sincere community. Of course, I had some pretty awesome parents – hi mom and dad – but, almost as important, I was blessed to be surrounded by exceptional neighbors and friends. I have come to the conclusion, not that I have inherited the succeed gene, but that I currently seek and surround myself with incredibly successful individuals because of my time in that little cotton town.
K
