Switched-On :: Blog

Feeling caught in the middle by peer pressure?

As we grow up, us teens deal with a lot in our days. Both good and bad things happen no matter what. We always have to get through it. Sometimes it may be hard but it always does end. But what happens if one day your friends are doing something dangerous. It can make a person uncomfortable. Then peer pressure starts to kick in. It makes you even more uncomfortable. I was in a situation like this. I was with two of my friends and they were doing something that wasn’t right. They asked me to join but I said no. I was uncomfortable with the situation because I knew it was wrong, but would have been awesome to do at the same time. I didn’t give into the pressure of my friends and I felt much better later. I may feel uncomfortable with a lot of situation but sometimes that feeling can help your judgment which is a good thing.

- Tatiana

A lot of times we end up doing something because someone else said we should or the fear of no longer being accepted by your peers causes you to do as they say. Peer pressure can go both ways. Peer pressure can lead to drug usage, alcohol consumption, or gang involvement if you hang out with a “wrong” crowd which could have potentially fallen in the same situation of being pressured before. Who says you have to listen to them? If they’re trying to make you do something you don’t want to do or things you know will affect your future negatively, they are probably not the friends you should be listening to. Stay to your own values and beliefs. Peer pressure can also do some good, if used for other cases. For instance, study groups can be a good thing to be pressured into as it could help improve your performance in school by causing you to study, which, I’ll have to admit is not my favorite thing to do. Use your best judgment.

- Vivian

Yesterday a bunch of old classmates gathered for our friend’s birthday. Since there was also a underclassman from our school present, we talked about things that happened in our classes and got updated about the current happenings at the school. Although we also discussed things that happened at our individual current schools, I personally enjoyed the part where we talked about the past. Maybe it’s a thing when you get older? However, I wish there were more people present as we were part of a selective program, so the classes had the same selection of people, so the eighty-ish of us all knew each other. I think that gatherings like this will become more and more rare as we get older and have our own lives, so I really enjoyed yesterday’s. Does anyone else like to catch up with old time friends? Or do you just let the relationship die out as you meet new people?

- Vivian

After the presentations during the last week of laboratory sessions for my Chemistry class, I headed to a store with a friend that I made in that class so she could get a teapot. On the way, we had a little discussion which made me think. She brought up the idea of how it seems to be harder to make permanent friends in college, especially within your classes, and emphasized the need for us to keep in touch. At our college, many of the classes are full-sized lectures where it may be hard to get acquainted with anyone. Even within smaller classes or discussion sections, it is not guaranteed you will be able to find people to have conversations with or friends to keep. For instance, I was rather friendly (or so I thought) with several individuals in my lab section last semester, but I have not seen them ever since or spoken to them. Therefore, I see the point in what my friend brought up. Many of these “friendships” seem rather fleeting, and sometimes I feel as if I am unable to make as many friends as I would like just in classes even though those in my classes are likely to pursue similar paths as me. Must I venture outside the classroom to establish friendships?

- Vivian