Yeah yeah, I know, parents, genetics, etc. I got that. That's not really what I'm asking here. Why do I have the parents and the genetics I have? Don't go telling me about how "God ordained it" and "it's His purpose." Yeah. Heard that one before, and it didn't answer any of my questions.
See, I've gotten to thinking. Maybe there isn't a reason, and we're only different because, hey, that's just the way the world works. Normally an answer like that wouldn't convince a guy like me. (No really, answers like that have radically changed parts of my life. I hate those kind of answers.) But this time... this time it makes sense.
Let me explain; say (just for this example) that everyone is the same. We all look the same, have the same living conditions, etc. We would still be different. (Well, that or the world would collapse. But we'll get to that.) See, inside of everybody, we are all still fundamentally different. We inherently change our beliefs and behaviors because of one major factor that determines who every last one of us is: experience.
Our experiences are what shape us. The things that we've seen and done are the unchanging reason that we are different. Everybody has seen or done something that someone else has not. Similar? Quite possibly. The same? Nope. That's why, in us all, there are different passions, different hopes and dreams, different loathings, different ideas... It's all so distinct and colorful.
"But, if our experiences are different in your example then we aren't really the same," you say. I suppose that's true. For these people, lets just say that yes, we all have the same experiences. The same jobs, lives, friends, personalities, everything. The world would die. (I told you we'd get to this.) "That doesn't make any sense," you say. Well yes, actually, it does.
If everybody were the same to that extreme, everyone would die, and the world would have decayed away long ago. No matter what job it was, if everybody had the same job, we wouldn't survive. We couldn't survive. And if everyone acted exactly the same and thought the same way, there would be insurmountable problems within the human race. (And by the way, the human race would need to be very small. If we all had the same experiences we would have to know the same people and do the same things at the same time with those people.)
Are you seeing what I'm saying here? We can't be the same. It's just the way it works. Our differences are why we thrive; the different experiences, passions, motives, and appearances (that's right, even looks) come together to create a cohesive world where different people serve different roles and oftentimes those different roles work hand in hand to create a greater image or purpose. It is the fundamental differences in all of us that make the world what it is: a thriving place, full of life and full of differences.