-Peer Pressure: Find Your Line

By: JB

I, myself, was pressured by my friends back in the eighth grade. I was offered a joint, but I didn’t feel like smoking because that just wasn’t the way I conducted myself.

My friends didn’t think this way, so they would have taken the joint. The people they hung around with from a young age smoked, so if they saw someone smoking, they were going to think it was good, and do it as well.

Can peer pressure be good? Yes, A friend can pressure you into doing something like studying, exercising, and doing something constructive with your time, rather than wasting it on bad stuff like smoking, bullying, shoplifting, and drinking.

What makes it possible to resist peer pressure? You need a good head on your shoulders, knowledge of the difference between wrong and right, good and bad, and the confidence to stand up for yourself.

How I resist peer pressure is different. I go by a simple rule: If I am asked to do something by someone, I tell them, ‘’If you haven’t seen me doing what you’re asking me to do, that means I don’t do it.’’

I have given in to some peer pressure before, but it was minor, like just going down the street with some friends to a store, but nothing illegal like shoplifting.

` What can you do to resist peer pressure?

• You can try to stay away from peer pressure. What I mean is if a certain group of people pressure you, stay away from them.
• Be assertive and politely decline the person that is pushing you without making the person feel bad.
• You can also make it known to your peers that you do not want to smoke or drink.You can have a good time partying without doing anything that is going to impact your life negatively.
• Prepare a joke or phrase that you can say that would make your friends become considerate of your boundaries.
• Also you can get advice from someone who has dealt with peer pressure before so you know what to do if you’re in a situation where you are being pressured.
• Prepare yourself for any dilemma that might pose as a threat to you and your body.

Students at Kean should be aware of peer pressure and how it impacts some of the younger students who might be getting pressured by the older students.

Finally, be your own person. Don’t follow other people. Be a leader. Set examples for good, and not for bad.

Here are some examples of how to counteract peer pressure.

Scene 1

Cassie is going to a house party on 10th Street with some friends. There is probably going to be alcohol at the party, but she has prepared some phrases to decline the inquiries of peers.

Cassie rings the door bell opens the door, and walks in.

Jake: Hey Cassie, what’s up?

Cassie: Nothing much. Just came to see how this party was gonna be.

Cassie walks over to the drink table with Jake.

Jake: What kind of drink you want, Cruzan, vodka,or some Hennessy?

Cassie: If it don’t smell right, it ain’t going in my stomach tonight.

Narrator: Cassie strategically avoided drinking by saying her line that she prepared for drinking situations.

Scene 2

Cassie is walking home from school one day in a bad neighborhood with drug dealers on every street corner. Let’s see how she handles herself:

Drug-dealer: Was up, girl.

Cassie: .........

Drug-dealer: You want some crack then.

Cassie: No, crack is wack.

For more info on how to resist peer pressure, go to the like below: http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/PIP/pdf/pip_tips/english/16_peer_pressure.pdf