Essay, Research Paper: Peer Pressure

Peer Pressures of High School
Glaring down at the reddish glow coming from the tip of the cigarette, I found out that I was in a peer pressure situation. Peer Pressure can be a huge problem for some young adults. It can sometimes be positive, but most of the time it’s negative and destructive. Smoking is just one of the peer pressures someone can go through. Alcohol and staying out late can also be huge peer pressures in high school. I know this because I have experienced them for myself. Drinking, smoking and staying out late were constant peer pressures throughout my high school career.
Looking down at the cigarette and being encouraged by my friend to take a hit off of it, I knew that smoking was not something I wanted to do at that time in my life. Although smoking wasn’t a huge peer pressure for me, it can be for others. Some of my friends did give into the pressure and are now addicted to cigarettes, and wish they hadn’t give in to that peer pressure in high school. I would have say that during high school, smoking was the most persistent peer pressure. It was at every party and gathering. Although it was there all the time sometimes alcohol would “rear its ugly head” at some of the parties.
Drinking was probably the most dangerous peer pressure. It was extremely illegal for an underage adult to be caught drinking during this time. I never experienced this peer pressure during high school because I didn’t hang around those types of people during that time. They were the types of people who didn’t think it was a “party” unless there was alcohol involved. I have seen drinking totally deteriorate people, because it got the best of them. Some of my friends totally changed after they started drinking. At first it was just a social thing to do at parties, but then lead on to drinking during their “spare time”. It affected their grades and their overall behavior. I do think this was the most dangerous peer pressure in high school, but there was always the pressure to stay out late.
Staying out late was a peer pressure I gave into on several occasions during high school. I know it affected my grades many times, and also made me late for school more than once. In high school you could always spot the students who stayed out late. Those students were always the ones falling asleep in class. When I was hanging around with the ones who never did stay out late, I always got to school on time and never fell asleep in class.
Peer pressure was not impossible to resist in high school. I found out in order to keep you away from certain peer pressures just stay away from those who you knew would try to influence you. Resisting peer pressure is all in whom you go out with, and whom you call your “friends”. Peer pressure cannot be totally avoided, but staying away from situations where you know a peer pressure situation will occur, will help your odds.


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