Nature Versus Nurture, Pans in Your Oven and Other Questionable Life Choices?

I’m doing my own social experiment on nature versus nurture and I want you all to be apart of it. I shared a simple photo on Facebook yesterday of an oven full of pots and pans. I find this completely normal. In fact, my own oven is full of pots and pans right now! What struck me is that the caption said, “When you’re about to turn on the oven but then you remember that you’re Hispanic.”

I shared it because for a minute I was shocked and thought, “ Wait, everybody doesn’t do this?” Well, doesn’t everybody? The answer is no, everybody doesn’t…but most people do and not just Latinos. But enough people don’t do it that 45 people weighed in on this status update. Who knew storing your pots and pans in your oven was so controversial?

Nature versus nurture, do we learn it or is it in our DNA?

So it made me start to think, some of these things I do, are they nature or nurture? Is it a “Latina” thing? A “daughter of a southern woman” thing? A “ Chicago” thing? A “human” thing? A “Woman” thing? Did I learn these or was I born like this? So I decided to put it to a poll, this is where you all come in. I need to hear your answers to help me figure this all out and understand the mystery that is this “Debi” thing.

1. Grilled cheese….do you put sugar on it? (Yes)
2. Milk…do you put ice in it? (Yes)
3. “Know what I mean?” …Doesn’t everyone ask this after they say something?
4. Pots and Pans…do you store them in your oven? (Where else?)
5. Eggs….do you put ketchup on them? (I put ketchup on them if they are scrambled, jelly if they are over easy)
6. Hard shell or soft shell tacos? (I’ve never eaten a hard shell taco in my life. In Mexico the only hard shells I ever saw were Tostadas.)
7. Pizza…thin or deep dish? (As a rule, deep dish but a like a good Sicilian.)
8. Hot dogs…ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise? (Ketchup and mustard only.)
9. Pop or soda? (Pop)
10. Make-up…is it a daily requirement? (Only if you’re going some place where you care what the people think, so on most days…no!)
11. Spanking kids….do you do it to your own kids? Would you allow others to do it to them? (No and Hell, no!)
12. Can you say the word “Sampler” or does it completely disappear into your nasal cavity? (Asking for a friend)
13. Vicks Vapo rub and Vaseline…do you use it? For what and how often? ( Yes, for everything and all the time.)
14. How do you say this word? Cabinet. (I say kab-uh-nit. My family makes fun of me. They say kab-nit. They say it wrong! I have proof.)
15. When your kid gets hurt, do you do Sana, Sana , kiss their booboos or say rub some dirt on it? (I sana, sana colita de rana and then I kiss it and make it all better because…you know, mom spit cures everything but stupid.)

Ok, I am dying to hear your answers because these are things that I thought were completely normal but have gotten some weird looks and comments on when I’ve said or done them before so I want to know, what do you do? Answer any of the questions above and weigh in in the comments. I really want to figure this out.

Nature versus nurture, which is it?