Resist Peer Pressure: A Letter to a Friend

Dear friend,

I know you are going through a lot of problems lately this year. I know because I remember when we went to that one party where we met two big guys who peer pressured you to drink. Yes they were older than us. But that didn’t give them the right to pressure you to drink over and over. At first you were smart by saying no. But as they kept pushing you to drink, you changed your mind and said yes. I never told you to drink or not to drink because I thought you knew better. When you first began drinking, I didn’t really care. But as the time went on, I saw you drinking more and more. That’s when I said: “That does it!” I asked you to please stop drinking. I thought you weren’t going to listen to me, but you did. I was afraid you might have gotten mad at me for asking you to stop drinking. I knew you were drunk because you couldn’t stand still. And I knew you weren’t playing around because I was there with you watching you drink.

At the time, peer pressure didn’t really affect me because I’ve never been peer pressured by anyone to drink or smoke. Well, at least not that I remember. But I already knew I had to say no if those guys pressured me to drink because I know I can make my own decisions. I have the right to say no, and I don’t drink. They didn’t even ask me to drink. Maybe they knew I was going to say no.

Next time something negative like that happens to you, don’t listen to those bullies. And by those bullies I don’t just mean those guys we met at the party. I mean anyone who tries to peer pressure you to drink or smoke or anything you don’t want to do. My advice to you and anyone who has been bullied is to ignore people like that. Or you can say something like: “You know what, I don’t want to do this and I’m not going to. So just stop wasting your time and my time.” I think there shouldn’t be any bullies peer pressuring anyone. I think everyone should make their own decisions.

If someone is pressuring you to do anything that’s not right or good for you, you have the right to resist. You have the right to say no, the right not to give a reason why, and the right to just walk away from a situation. According to The Cool Spot (http://www.thecoolspot.gov/): “Sometimes resisting isn’t easy, but you can do it with practice. Keep trying, even if you don’t get it right at first. You can resist alcohol, smoking, or anything else you may feel pressured into. There are also positive ways of pressuring friends to do something good for society.” For example, you can ask your friends to stay after school for something helpful and not useless. So please kids, teens, and even adults, don’t let your peers pressure you in a negative way. Everyone has the right to say no and to explain why. We need to stop peer pressure because it’s not cool.

Sincerely,

Dioney Santiago