Is there such a thing as your real self, or does your self change as time passes and given the circumstances you are in?

I think our basic natures remain, for the most part, the same throughout our lives.  What I believe changes are our opinions on various things, our outlook for our futures, our life experiences.  When we're young, most of us  have this optimism about where we will be at various stages of our lives.  As we age, reality sets in and we begin to see that some of our goals will not be met or that they weren't realistic to begin with.  Adulthood makes us realize that we have major responsibilities to our families and ourselves and we learn to adjust and accept where we are in each stage of our lives.

Deep thoughts, Chief! 

I learned that the self is 'the story that the self tells itself'. If that definition is accurate, there really can't be any such thing as "real" self. 

I also believe that nature, along with nurture, experiences, choices and that concept of oneself, are all pieces of what makes beings who and what they are.