Say No to Peer Pressure

A group of friends decided that they were going to skip school and go get loaded. One of them

asked you if you wanted to come. You know that its wrong but you dont want to lose your

friends nor do you want them to think that youre lame. I know what you can do! You can go to

school and get your education and let them be lost in life. What you do today, whether its big or

small, will always effect your future. So say no to peer pressure!!!

Peer pressure is very common in a teenagers life. Teens need to realize that their teenage

years of life is very serious because its the stage in life that is preparing them for the

adult stage of life. If they do something that is very bad and serious, that can follow them

in the long run of life., they say that It is so easy to give in to peer pressure because

everyone wants to fit in.( "Safe Teens." SafeTeens. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.)I, as a

teen myself, feel like this is true because I witness a lot of every day. Everyone wants to

fit in with some type of group. I personally think you should just be yourself because it

wouldnt make much sense if everyone was the same. Everyone is different and should

enjoy that. If a person doesnt accept you for who you are then theyre not worth your

time, AT ALL!!!! Dont let anyone change you, as I said before everyone is different and

has their own boundaries. Think about what youre about to do before you do it. Dr. B.J.

Casey from the Weil Medical College of Cornell University once said that teens are very

quick and accurate in making judgements and decisions in situations in where they have

time to think.( "Heads Up for Students." Heads Up for Students. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec.

2016. )Everything you do in life as a consequence to it whether you believe it or not. You

dont want to make life changing choices in life. You dont want to put yourself in a

situation where youre going to find it hard to get yourself out of. If you continue to face
peer pressure and youre finding it difficult to handle talk to a trusted adult. Always

remember that youre not in this alone. There are other teens all over the globe thats

going through the same thing as you.

Every teen that I know started drinking before they reached the age of 18. Studies

say that teens are more likely to start drinking while theyre young instead of

waiting until theyre an adult. I have never been to a high school party but Im

pretty sure the main beverage that is served there is alcohol. 75% of teens have

consumed alcohol by the end of high school, not just a few sips either, also 37%

have done so by the eighth grade. (FAQS AND STATS) Now I dont know if

thats just a result of bad parenting or an act a rebellious teen, but I know that it

has to stop. Underage drinking has resulted in 26.4% from ages 12-20. (FAQS

AND STATS) Alcohol can do a lot to teens that they dont know about, it can also

kill you. Thats why Im saying dont give in to peer pressure because Im pretty

sure that half of that 26.4% of teens were pressured into drinking.

There is a boy named Mike and hes 16 years old. Mike was 11 years old

when he started smoking cigarettes. He didnt want to do it for real, but he

also didnt want to be kicked out of the group. As we can all see this was

an act of peer pressure. 396,000 smokers who started as teens die each

year from smoking related diseases. (@TeenHelpcom. "Teen Smoking

Statistics - Teen Help." Teen Help. N.p., 16 Mar. 2016. Web. 12 Dec. 2016)

This should be a wake up call to all teens who are smoking right now. Each

day 6,000 children under the age of 18 start smoking (@TeenHelpcom.

"Teen Smoking Statistics - Teen Help." Teen Help. N.p., 16 Mar. 2016. Web.

12 Dec. 2016) smoking isnt cool. A lot of teens smoke because of peer

pressure, thats why Im telling you guys that you do not have to fit in with the

other group. I mean, yea we dont want to be left out or labeled as an

outkast, but is fitting in really worth risking your health later on in life?

This leads me to teen sexuality. Sex is becoming a big topic in the teen world.

Almost every teen is having sex, but they dont understand how dangerous

sex can be if youre not doing it properly or SAFELY. In 2011-2013 among

unmarried 15-19 year olds, 44% of females and 49% of males had sexual

intercourse.("American Teens' Sexual and Reproductive

Health." Guttmacher Institute. N.p., 02 Nov. 2016. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.) I

guess people dont believe in sex after marriage anymore. Sex is something

that you share with your special someone, not a person you meet in a day.

Sex can cause a lot of problems, problems that us teens arent ready to deal

with right now. Some teens decide to have sex because their friends thinks

its cool. ("I Wanna Know: Sexual Health and You." I Wanna Know: Sexual

Health and You. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.) My question is are they going

to think its cool if you have to stay home and watch your child instead of

going to the movies with them? Your virginity is a prize that you cant win over

again. Once you lose it, its gone forever. Think before you do it! or if youre

already having sex can you please make sure youre using a condom and
that your partner doesnt have anything. STIs are spreading rapidly around to

everyone.

I dont understand whats going on with this society today. Its like everyone

wants to be that person. Heres something that I want to tell all teens, Be

yourself quit trying to fit in with the it group. 10 times out of 10 most of them

arent even your real friend. Dont be in such a hurry to do everything. Yes life

is all about experiencing and learning, but youre going to have to watch

yourself. If youre a person that stays in their books, be proud of that because

youre going to actually make it somewhere in life.

Well my fellow peers thats all I got for you. Either take the information that I

gave to you and use it wisely or do what you want with it, just make sure

youre ready for the consequences. Were not perfect and were young so of

course were going to make mistakes but how many times are we going to

make the same mistakes?

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