Are you your mother (or father)?

Question: Does heritage determine who we are as people?

Heritage is defined on Dictionary.com as "something that comes from or belongs to one by reason of birth; an inherited lot or portion".  This definition certainly encompasses tangible objects and physical features that may be passed down from one generation to another through genetics, but what about such things as personality?  Jamie Derringer completed a study on variations of DNA chains associated to the release of dopamine, and revealed that 6.6% of one's desire for pleasure is due to the makeup of these DNA chains.  So technically speaking, everything one receives through their heritage is physically passed down.  But that doesn't mean one's heritage labels him or her as a person.  In the memoir The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Jeannette begins the book by questioning why her mother is so content with being homeless.  She is embarrassed by her mother; when she sees her sorting through garbage, she cowards in the back seat of her taxi, ignoring her existence.  Jeannette later describes in her novel her experience growing up in a family that placed little to no value on material things.  Rather, the family centered around their bond with eachother.  While Jeannette has decided that she would like to live comfortably, she does value family as her parents did.  She has developed some of the characteristics she received from her parents, but has individualized herself.  Ultimately, she has bonded her individuality to her heritage: she found a passion for writing and was impacted  enough by her family to dedicate an entire story in their remembrance.