Each of us faces the choice of who and what we will become. Sometimes, we don't really know what we want to be when we grow up until we are forty-something. Our earliest models for making that choice are the people who raise and nurture us. Although we identify with the adults whom we admire most, each of us is unique and intended to become "our own person."

Occasionally there is a family-owned business and we are expected to carry on in that tradition, or to choose the vocation of one of our parents. Heredity and environment influence who we become, but they do not determine it. Ultimately, we must make the choices about how we will live.

Children benefit greatly from contact with other adults, including friends, relatives, and teachers who show love and model appropriate behavior for t…