Advanced Essay #2 Under Pressure

Posted by Jayden Tull in English 3 · Block/Harmon · Y Band on

This essay was written to educate the reader about the power of peer pressure and how it works. I want the reader to really think about what I am saying and apply it to their own life. I am most proud of my analogies and the way I explained the topic. I feel like I hit it right on the nose. As I grow as a writer I want to be able to give a deeper analysis and be able to give my paper a good flow. I hope you enjoy my essay.

Advanced Essay #2 Under Pressure​

Peer pressure is everywhere. If you make a decision based on any opinions, ideas or advice from anybody but yourself, that's peer pressure. Peer pressure is seen as a child’s issue and although it is most common in teenagers, peer pressure can happen to people of all ages. Peer pressure is seen as negative but it can be positive as well. Being vulnerable to peer pressure is a big part of one's identity. It’s about being true to who you are but also learning from others to become the best you can be.  Here's an example of how I handled peer pressure.

“Bro I didn’t know you were about that life?”
“What you mean?” I said back.
“Bro that’s no regular Brownie”
When he said that I caught on. I was holding an edible in my hand. I looked around and noticed all my friends chowing down on the brownies and I debated. I mean everyone else was enjoying themselves why can’t I?  I contemplated heavy. 
“Jay, you gonna eat that jawn or you finna hold it like it has sentimental value?” my friend says with a mouth full. My other friends laugh at his joke.  I chuckled too to hide my worry.  I mean drugs?! That’s not me but what do I know. I’ve never tried it. Plus all my friends say it’s fun and I should try it. I decide to just hold it and walk around with it, pretend I been eating them the whole time when it’s the same piece I had an hour ago. I felt like I was one of them. My one friend saw me and was like
“Jayden if you don’t stop playing and eat that brownie we know its the same one. If you don’t want it just put it back you don’t gotta pretend with us.”

So I put it back. I remembered that I don’t have to be high to have fun and I didn’t want to do something that wasn’t me. My friends tried to convince me but I stood my ground, staying true to myself.
    At that moment, I faced a conflict between seeking acceptance from my friends and staying true to who I was. While this is one form of peer pressure, there are many other forms. One form is Dares, most of the time a dare is something you don’t really want to do but people convinced you to or made fun of you because you didn’t want to. The main thing that makes peer pressure work is our desire for acceptance. Serenity Lawrence talks about the peer pressure and how it works in her Ted Talk. She says, “By doing things to fit in you get this feeling of acceptance which is like an award to your brain” (Lawrence April 2018). From this point, we can see that as people we value acceptance. Nobody wants to be separated or considered different. We would much rather be considered normal or cool, “good enough” for society. Now I know what your thinking. Being Different is good, but what you don't realize is that being different is today's normal. We follow the norms unconsciously and mistake action for our own ideas when we actually do it sometimes just to fit in. We succumb to peer pressure without even knowing.
    Teens are the most common group to be affected by peer pressure. There was an article about watching the people you surround yourself with. It says, “teens may find it more difficult to control impulsive or risky behaviors when their friends are around”(Schoolistic 2008).   Submitting to someone else’s idea or opinion makes you a victim of peer pressure. This is most common in teens because between the ages of 14 and 17 most people go through the identity phase. That awkward phase where you are learning what kind of person you are. You are developing your individuality. For most adults, they are already firm in their identity so it is harder to pressure them into doing or thinking something out of their character. Peer pressure is everywhere. Just by talking to someone and sharing opinions, you are introduced to peer pressure. That’s not always a bad thing. Let’s say you been dressing a certain way your whole life and go to high school and now you update your look after seeing other kids. Boom: peer pressure and there’s nothing wrong with a new look. It’s not always bad.
    Although conformity isn’t always bad, there are times we need to stay true to ourselves; there are ways to resist conformity. You don’t have to give in. It depends on your personal strength.  In this article about dealing with peer pressure, it said, ”Inner strength and self-confidence can help you stand firm, walk away, and resist doing something when you know better”(Dealing Peer Pressure). You control peer pressure. It’s more than just surrounding yourself with good people it’s also staying true to yourself. Know yourself, know your worth(that's Drake). This doesn’t necessarily mean don’t listen to anybody, listening to your peers can also be positive and help you grow as a person. You have to pick and choose how you respond to the new ideas and opinions. You are in control of how it affects you. 
     Peer pressure is a powerful thing. It can make or break you. You have to spot it and decide if you are going to conform to its ways or do you and follow your own path. That’s life, a big long journey full of different paths and roads leading to new things. Make sure you're the one choosing the path for yourself and not someone else.

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