I was talking to one of my aunties at Christmas and she said she didn’t think it was ever in my nature to go against the grain, that I was always a good boy. I think she was right - I did always want to be good.

McAvoy frames his self-understanding through a family member’s recollection: an aunt’s comment at Christmas becomes a mirror for his own sense of temperament. The quote suggests a tension between “going against the grain” (rebellion, contrarianism) and an internalized desire to be “good,” implying a personality shaped by approval, conscience, or responsibility. Read as reflective rather than boastful, it highlights how moral identity can feel less like a chosen stance than a persistent inclination—something confirmed by those who knew us early. It also hints at the way family narratives can stabilize or revise our adult self-image.