Nature vs Nurture vs Something Else

In nine hours I am leaving for Athens.  For college.  For a bittersweet combination of freedom and responsibility.
So many people have heard that I go to UGA and that I am in a fraternity.  Their response is almost always "so it must get pretty crazy up there right?".  This invariably leads to a semi-awkward denial as I try to explain to them that I really don't get into that whole side of things.
But as I sit here in the middle of the night, I begin to question why I didn't fall into the patterns of so many of my friends when I got to college freshman year.  Am I just special? Am I just too cheap to go downtown (yes), or is there something more, something greater behind my difference?
I had a conversation with my dad a little while ago, in which he told me that he and my mom were scared when they let me go to Georgia because they weren't sure how I would change once I got there.  He said that he had heard tons of stories of kids getting there and going off the reservation.  So after applauding my resilience, he asked what made the difference.
In the Bible, it says to train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it.  My mom and dad did a fantastic job raising me and Austin.  They took the time to make sure we understood not just what we should and shouldn't do, but also the morals and motivations behind it.  Their love shaped my worldview, and it remains huge in my life.
But it can't just be them.  The argument of nature vs nurture comes into play here.  If it is up to the parents, why are so many kids from wonderful families going crazy, partying, dealing with depression and homosexuality?  There has to be a factor outside of our upbringing that changes us.  Maybe it is just genetic.  Maybe some people are just born inherently wild.  Maybe some people have a gene that dictates they will start drinking at 8, get pregnant at 20, and spiral out of control.  Maybe this is it.
Now that sounds pretty hopeless.  If it's genetic, some people are just screwed.  
But maybe there is something greater.  What if, just maybe, the love of Christ, which is offered to all man, comes in and changes us when we ask for it.  The Apostle Paul says that when we accept Christ, we are "dead to sin, and alive in Christ Jesus".  This means that Jesus changes our desires.  So how do we keep it that way?
This is my challenge to myself as I move in.  And to anyone who reads this blog.  The Bible says in Romans 8:5 "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit."
Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.  He knows what He is doing and he is willing and eager to sweep in an give you the strength to fight off temptation.
So thank you, Mom and dad, for forging in me the desire to press on in Christ, and to fix my eyes on him.  I hope I make you proud this year.

Love,
Tyler