I grew up in Minnesota, USA where I developed this personality, went to school, learned to ski, came of age, made mistakes that were (in hindsight) relatively small. I moved to the UK in 1995, where I grew up (in ways beyond physically), learned a lot, made mistakes that were relatively large but did some things that were fantastic and important.
If that all seems a little vague, I'd be happy to fill it out when we know each other better - perhaps over a drink sometime.