PEER PRESSURE

PEER PRESSURE and why it could be important to be who you are

Why would you want to be someone else when you could be better by being yourself? Why pretend to be someone you are not? Remember friends we are not here to live up to other people’s expectations. I think all of us are well aware of this topic “Peer pressure”. Teenage is that phase of life when we are exposed to the outside universe, when we spend most of our time with our friends. All this while, we are trying to figure out who we are, what place do we have in our schools and colleges etc. We feel happy when we are accepted. But if not, then what? We either have the courage and maturity to face it or we often end up changing ourselves, our lifestyles and our habits. Life becomes easier when we have to act like others-so we join the bandwagons and lose our original way to look at life.

What happens is the group which you choose to be a part of makes it very clear that either you do as per they say or you will be happily kicked out of that group. That activity may be drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, engaging in sexual activities etc. All this leads to loss of individuality, self esteem and many a times to depression. Most of us must have watched “Gumrah” which presents crime related cases committed by teens like stealing their own parent’s money to keep their partners happy. I would like to quote news here-A young girl committed suicide over her facebook comments. Moreover, do you guys know that 44% teens drive better without friends in car or there are 4 million reports of STD every year by teenagers?

The world we are living in is a dangerous place. The person being pressurised feels torn between his desire to be a part of the group and his values. There is healthy peer pressure also which may help us to improve our academic performance but then in 98 out of 100 cases, it leads to unhealthy competition and growing feeling of envy among the peers.

What I would like to say is that we should always take a stand for ourselves and have pride in who we are. You should learn to say no when others around you say yes and that is what will make you unique. Don’t be because you have to be but be because you want to be. And well that’s awesome in my books.

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