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Volume 1 (1999/2000)
Issue
1 (March 1999)
Issue
2 (Nov. 1999)
Issue 3 (Dec. 1999)
Issue 4 (Feb. 2000)
Issue 5 (March 2000)
Issue 6 (April 2000)
Issue
7 (May 2000)
Volume 2 (2000/2001)
Issue 1 (Sept. 2000)
Issue 2 (Oct. 2000)
Issue 3 (Jan. 2001)
Issue 4 (March 2001)
Issue 5 (April 2001)
Issue 6 (May 2001)
Volume 3 (2001)
Issue 1 (Sept. 2001)
Issue 2 (Nov. 2001)
Categories
Sport: 1
2 3
Lifestyles: 1 2
3
Commentary: 1 2
3
Review: 1 2
3
Writing: 1 2
3
Event: 1 2
3
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Clare Egan
Mercy Convent, Beaumont
Clare Egan with advice on peer pressure
What is wrong with being yourself? Now before you say "what is the
mad one going on about?, give me a minute or two of your time (I may be
a bit mad but I made a mature decision a long time ago to act as childish
as possible). Soon we will all be clones just like damn sheep! Can you
make all your own decisions for yourself or are you just doing what others
do? A few weeks ago during Religion class, our teacher addressed the issue
of peer pressure. She said that many just go along with what everybody
else says, even if they don't think its right. Those who go outside the
crowd are truly courageous. I came out of that class thinking "She
is so right" and I don't often think teachers are right.
What is peer pressure?
Peer pressure is when you do something because either all your friends
are doing it and you don't want to be left out or you are bullied into
doing something that you don't want to do. Now come on, if all your friends
were talking about this cool new club they were all going to on Friday
night, would you be tempted to go with them even though you know that
you are underage? Most teenagers (or 'young adults' which is the proper
term!) go around in the same type of clothes and doing the same type of
things as our friends.
You can not avoid peer pressure!
Schools are breeding grounds for peer pressure but it is everywhere. Your
friends all go and buy fake IDs and are constantly at you to do the same.
Although you want to kill them, you get the ID just to get them to shut
up. If you said that you don't really want one, they may say that you
are too scared of being caught and make you feel a real baby. At the end
of the day, my advice is that, if you don't feel right about something,
then don't do it and don't give a toss about what your friends say. If
they are really pressuring you into doing something against your wishes
then they are not true friends. But the strange thing is that even though
every single one of us knows this deep down, we still don't act on it
and instead go along with the crowd.
How do avoid being put down?
Being 'put down' by your peers because you don't want to 'mitch off' school
with them can be a blow to your self-confidence. I'm not ashamed to say
that I have been put down a lot but one thing I've learned after a long
time is to just turn around and say "I don't really care if you think
I'm some scared little baby for not wanting to go along with you, but
I honestly don't want to". One of the hardest things I've had to
learn in my life (besides algebra) is to stop being a doormat for others
and to have the courage to stand up for myself. Since that decision I've
gained a lot of confidence. It is very hard to turn around to your friends
and say "No" as by doing this you are stepping out of the crowd.
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