But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:12-14 NKJV

It is often said that we are the products of the combination of a number of things ranging from our society to our interactions and then our relationships. I have observed that six major ingredients, sources or institutions help to form an individual, but there’s a seventh which is silent/unrecognized, albeit a very important one. They are:

1. The society: By this we refer to the sociocultural norms and values, goals and acceptable means of achieving such goals, both written and unwritten, spoken and unvoiced.
2. Educational Institutions: These are both formal and informal training grounds where attitudes are shaped, skills are acquired, and all kinds of career and social orientation are developed. The quality, value, method and process of imparting this training and knowledge determine the characters that will emanate from such institutions.
3. Associations: These are formal and informal associations; friendships, tribes, interests, casual groups e.g. beer parlors, viewing centers, bus stations, banking halls etc., colleagues, schoolmates, neighbors. All these forms of association have varying degrees of influence on shaping the mentality, ideology, opinion and character of an individual. As the adage says “show me your friend and I will tell you who you are.” The places you frequent and the people you hang-out with go a long way to determine who you are.

To be continued…