What makes a person?

Beginnings and endings are a frequent part of life. We start and finish school, relationships begin and end, projects kick-off and conclude. But what about the person we become as we go through these life experiences? Are we simply following a set course? 

In psychology there is the constant debate of nature vs. nurture. Is who we are determined in the womb or do we develop as we grow and experience life? Are the choices we make pre-determined at birth? Do external forces ultimately affect who we become?  

What about the villain? Were they born the anti-hero or did life push them into this role? Imagine a world where all that we are and will become has been decided long before we can form coherent thought.  

Have a think on these ideas and submit your short story or poem for the upcoming 2023 USYD Anthology.