Are people really products of their enviroment, or is it possible people are who they want to be? like if you grow up around drugs and violence are you pre destined to spend your life around drugs and violence. or if you were treated like $hit as a kid, will you automatically treat your kids like $hit? is it really a endless cycle?

No, it's not an endless cycle unless an individual decides to just follow in their teachers (ie parents, etc.) footsteps.

We're all molded by our past. Breaking out of the mold is a choice and usually requires work.

Absolutely not!

Plenty of people have worked their way from the ghettos of life.

When one becomes aware of the patterns in their lives...they make a conscious choice to either live their life according to what they demand and will settle for no less.

Or they can be a gutless piece of **** and blame other people for a situation that they are too damned lazy to change for themselves.

Negative Patterns only repeat themselves until someone has the guts, determination and resolve to say "NO MORE!"

But, then again.....holding ones self accountable aint wildly popular on this planet. People want all the credit for the good stuff in life and no blame for the bad s**t.

Enviorment has a lot to do with it. What experiences you have in that enviorment also have an effect. Plus what you are born with as far as how sensitive you are to that enviorment plays a part.
It's not one or the other. It's a combination of things.

Environment does do some sculpting. The rest is personality traits. Some people just don't want to work, others have work ethic. Some people you can take them from the ghetto and give them everything they need to make a good life for themselves and all they do is squander it and act like they are still in the ghetto. Some people are forced to live in the ghetto but find their way out and never return.

Apples and oranges! All people are their own individuals.

PS Born a Sh**head, always a sh**head. Some people show what they are when they are kids, others when they reach adulthood.

It's all about personal decision..You make your life what you want it to be.

you are limited only by yourself and your actions.

Our past is our past it is our choice if we choose not to change the future and live within the past.

Sure being raised within certain environments will have a bearing of who we are and what we do. But it does not hold us back from changes unless we choose to let it........

classic Nature vs Nurture Freudian argument....have no clue what the answer is..but I dont believe in destiny..so i think it doesnt matter where you came from, at some point you have to decide for yourself where you want to go.

Learned behavior is a hard cycle to break. But, I believe it depends on how much you want that ideal of yourself to be a reality. How strong you really are. How far are you really willing to go to be better than all you've known. It's revealing of your character when you contemplate it. I like your ponder.