This weekend, I was visiting with my mom, and we were cleaning up some papers in her house.  We came across a copy of the recommendation that my daughter’s high school guidance counselor had written to accompany her college applications.  Let’s do the math – that was nearly ten years ago. [Let’s also look right past the age spots sprouting on my hands right now.]

The letter went on for almost four pages. It told a whole range of stories from how my daughter had faced adversity to how she tackled hard work, how fiercely her need to compete came through and how she cared and stepped out of her way for her peers.  And it used adjectives, lots of adjectives. 

Of course, strolling down that particular memory lane was a proud parenting moment.  Much of what I was reading I haven’t thought about in years.  But this is not the point of my story.

As I read this counselor’s description of my daughter, I was taken with his chosen words.  Nearly ten years later I would use most, if not all, of those same adjectives to describe her.

Which led me to the following question.  Are we predetermined? From the time we are born, are our traits embedded?

I am honestly not sure what I think the answer is or should be.  I am pretty convinced, however, that large themes around traits I saw in my children when they were small, are right there now all these many years later.

What do you think?  Do our traits trace back to the beginning?