Peer pressure is a total reality in your life. Every day you see your friends do things that make them seem cool. How your friends act is a major influence on you. You want to be accepted by your friends, and you want to seem cool just like them. When you are a teen, your friends are really important to you. You are all going through similar physical and emotional changes, you all go to school together every day, and you all have a whole bunch of things in common—plus you have fun together. So, sometimes your friends will do things that you’re not really into. Maybe you’ve heard that what they’re doing is bad… you know like drinking, smoking cigarettes, smoking pot, taking pills or something else. If your friends are doing stuff like this, it’s probably not that cool for you to be involved. That’s because there are major issues that come along with drugs and alcohol that can have a lasting effect on your health and your future. So, just because something seems cool now doesn’t mean it’s going to be cool down the road.

There’s not just peer pressure about doing drugs or drinking. Peer pressure also concerns how you look. Look around at all of you friends. Maybe they all look a certain way or dress a certain way. Maybe all of your friends are skinny, or athletic, or blonde, or preppy. Does this make you feel a lot of pressure to conform? Do you want to look like them so you fit in? Well, that’s natural. But it’s not necessary. Everybody is different in this world, and if we all looked the same it would be pretty boring. So, start with your group of friends. Embrace your differences, don’t obsess over them. If your friends can’t love you for who you are and how you look, then they probably aren’t really your friends anyway.

Peer pressure also carries over into other areas, too. Maybe a bunch of your friends are starting to go pretty far with their boyfriends. They might even be having sex, and talking about it. Well, don’t make the decision to have sex just because your friends are. You need to look at your own values and priorities when making that decision. If you feel excluded or embarrassed because of your lack of experience, that’s normal. Just remember that it’s totally OK to move at your own pace. A lot of girls who make hasty decisions about sex regret it later on. So, be proud of yourself and maybe your friends will decide they want to be making smart decisions just like you.