I've been thinking about this sort of thing this year too, especially as my own personal values and comforts were intensely challenged. On the one hand - yeah, I totally agree with you. We should always be re-evaluating the way we think based on what we experience, rather than consistently referring to old data ("how we were raised"). But man, when you're suddenly hit with a challenge you weren't expecting like a slap in the face, it becomes very difficult to not revert back to a little kid sometimes.

But I'll never make an excuse and give up, and I certainly don't WANT to be the person I was supposedly 'raised to be' - I've just noticed, this year especially, that sometimes my upbringing comes back to haunt me =/

I think, in addition to the drive to be your own person, there's also the factor of - is anyone encouraging you to think for yourself? I certainly wasn't, and was shot down when I did.

With that in mind, I'm eternally grateful for the people I surround myself with now <3