When I was a kid, I always ask my parents what are their characters and what's mine?. The answer I always receive is "Your characters will be what you yourself choose to make it." but I don't really believed it till I'm grow up. I'm agree with British naturalist and politician John Lubbock that our character is what we choose to be and will be what you yourself choose to make it.  First of all, neighborhood, where you born and grow up is the most important thing that impact on how you form your own character. For example, if you born into a nice neighborhood, you most likely to be a good citizen, educated, and have good character traits. Another example is me, when I was a kid, I used to live in a nice, fancy neighborhood back in Vietnam, where they were no lies, arguments, fighting, social gangster stuff there and I hadn't to deal with any of that problems. Which was the key elements for me to formed honesty and integrity. Which really help me a lot in education and in school.  Second, parents, parents are the second important elements which affect how your character traits will be. How your parents parenting you is also really important, if they're harsh on you and make you focus on education. You most likely to become a successful person and later influences your kids in the future too. For example, my parents are just like any other typical Asian parents, where they want their kids to become a successful person and succeed on their path. They're really harsh on me by telling my to do the homework as fast as possible when I'm get home from school. Which help me have more time later to enjoy it with my family. They also forced me to sleep really early at 9:30 PM, which help me to have more sleeping hours so that in the next day I will be productive in class. This help me formed responsibilities as an adults early in life.  Finally, act, the way you act and treat people is also an element that is impacting on forming your own character traits. Any typical Asian parents will teach their kid how to respect elderly, cousin, bow when you see who is older than you or when you ask for help and also help people who is in need and is not luckily like you. Back in my family, I always remember that my parents taught me that elderly had the most power in an Asian family and you always had to bow and greet every single time you see them. This helped me formed respectful to everyone in the society as a kid.  However, we may can form a good characters by influences beyond our control without anyone help and our characters may eventually fit with what we really are. I have to agree with it, but there're really a small percentage of people successful forming a good character influences beyond their control. Forming a character without examples that I provided above is really hard. Missing these key elements won't make you able to formed good characters based on your control. Therefore, Our character traits will be what you yourself choose to make it.  Based on the 3 examples that I provided above, should explains how it helps you on your way to make characters that you choose to make it. Having good characters that yourself decide to have may eventually be helpful or important for your future.