[munificent]

> the more I see how much personality is packed into even very young people.

Before I had kids, I always assumed that babies were like undifferentiated blank slates and that they grew unique personalities over time and through experiences.

If anything, it's the exact opposite. My kids and the kids of my friends pop out of the womb with insanely huge personality variation. You don't see it at first because babies have so few visible outputs. But once they hit toddler age where they can walk and talk and do stuff, you realize each one is a complete batshit crazy wildcard.

It's only through years of socialization that they learn to mold their inner oddball into something stable and functional enough to participate in society.