I was browsing some user profiles on a website earlier today, and notice people claiming certain things about themselves that made me sit back and thing.  For an example, I saw a girl that claimed, “I’m kind of a big deal…people know me” That made me stop and think about it.  It’s almost like they are posing, and trying to push something to almost make it true.  And I think to an extent we have all done that.  This is also known as leveling.  People with lower self-esteem especially I think.  They try to do one of two things.  Either bring themselves up to other people’s level, or bring other people down.  It’s almost like they have to insult people to make themselves feel better.  I’ve met people like that.  And you will also notice that they don’t really do it to people that are strong willed, it’s usually to weak minded individuals.  When it comes down to it, why do people have low self-esteem?  I think I probably agree with Freud on that one.  He basically states that you develop most of your personality when you are one year old to two and a half years old.  That makes sense to me.  But that brings up the question, could you mold and shape a person from birth, to be exactly how you are, or how you want them to be?  How impressionable are people?  How influential are people on your life?  Well as far as thoughts and opinions, I think a lot.  But thoughts and opinions don’t make someone’s personality.  Someone once told me that happiness comes from “within,” and isn’t something that we can achieve by simply being around people we like, or situations that are fun.  I have to disagree with that completely.  In my opinion, people we are close to, and places that we live in, decide if we are truly happy people or not.  That ties in perfectly with personality development.  If you are in an unhappy home up until age three, although you can’t specifically remember that time in your life, it has an effect on you.  So can people change?  Can you alter who you are?  I don’t think so.  Just like I said earlier, you can pose, you can pretend, but that doesn’t change how you feel deep down.