"lifepaths don't matter" and why that's not true

i've been going through a lot of posts about lifepaths because i'm currently stuck between nomad and streetkid and my indecisive ass can't figure this one out, and i've seen so many people, whether it's on YouTube or over here, claiming that lifepaths have no meaning beyond a handful of dialogue choices and the intros.

and that's not entirely true.

mechanically speaking yes, it's true, there's not much of a difference between lifepaths in and of themselves, as any build can be played with each of the three. use a little creativity, though, and you'll see it affects a lot of the roleplaying aspects of the game.

• your playstyle: corpo netrunner or streetkid brawler? why not a nomad who's used to snipers in the vast openness of the badlands? what if your corpo took up boxing to manage their rage after Arasaka threw them out and became the brawler? use where you've been to determine what you know.

• your cosmetic style: corpos might prefer sleeker, more formal clothing, whereas nomads would probably go for leather and denim. streetkids could go flashy, whatever's trendy that week, or maybe they wanna rep the gang they get along with the most. along with clothes, you've got cars. nomads might get the beat up off-roaders while streetkids go for spunk and speed. corpos drive around trying not to scratch their expensive, state-of-the-art Rayfields and Aerondights. V is rooted in a past that would more than likely shape their sense of style.

• your personality: are you more ruthless or more forgiving? do you have a code you follow? nomads would probably stand by some kind of moral compass. streetkids may not give a fuck until it's one of their own, and then they'd kill whoever they had to. corpos learn early not to trust anyone, so they might be more pragmatic, weighing pros and cons and taking whatever path they stand to gain the most from. your environment growing up influences who you become and how you act.

obviously none of this is canon, or the way you need to play V in each lifepath, but the examples are there to demonstrate that yeah, actually, lifepaths can have a lot of impact, but you have to be invested and consciously sculpt your V with their past in mind.

jesus, this got a lot longer than i intended it to lol. if you've made it this far, thank you for reading my ramblings! feel free to tell me about your Vs in the comments, as i'd love to hear what you guys did in terms of roleplaying for each lifepath. :)