Peer Pressure (from Gabriel)

Pressure: the external force on one object causing a change in behavior or actions.
Peer Pressure: People coercing someone to do something they want them to do.

I was recently involved in a situation where I was pressured to do something wrong. I was called names over and over and over again. People who pressure others don’t stop until you do what they want. It was like pests annoying you until they get what they want. It made me feel like an insignificant person and very hated. I felt like all the names they called me, I felt like there was no way out. I once told someone about this, and then I was called a snitch. They said no one likes a snitch, and everyone hates me.

I would’ve changed my reaction to it if I had thought about the big picture of life and what and who I was affecting. So this is my personal advice: 1) If your peers are telling you to make fun of someone else, don’t listen, tell someone you trust 2) Tell the bullies stop it and ask then yourself why you are doing it. I know I should have stood up to the bullies and ignored their requests. Unfortunately, the quotes below are true, but knowing it and experiencing it are very different things. Hopefully, I will learn from this experience.

“No child is immune to peer pressure” ~Kathi Hudson
“Kids ... can get to the point where they feel peer pressure isn't even there” ~Walt Mueller