When I first entered high school, I was not as confident about myself as I am today. During high school years, there have always been a lot of pressures to do things that one may not want to do. In the beginning, I really wanted to be accepted by my friends and therefore was much more susceptible to pressure by them. Gradually, I started to learn to overcome these pressures and that required a lot of self discipline.
One situation that stood out in which I constantly felt pressured to do started during my freshman year when my friends began smoking. I felt left out because all of them would go somewhere after school and smoke as I stayed home doing homework or playing video games. On several occasions, I tried to convince my friends to quit smoking because of the health hazards that might cause them. They did not listen and to
One day my friends and I went to watch a movie together. After the movie, my friends began smoking. Again, I felt left out. My friends looked at me like I came from another world. Some of them tried to persuade me to smoke. They told me to just give it a try so I would know what it felt like. Some ridiculed me for not even trying. I felt pressured and wanted to be accepted by my friends so when one of them handed me a cigarette, I finally took it, but after some hesitation, I decided to put the cigarette in my pocket.
I was able to overcome the pressure to smoke because I put my emotions aside and tried to think logically. I was indeed struggled by a wish to be accepted by my friends and be thought of as “cool” just like them, but I just could not let go my principles to be accepted. I could not do things that I know I
Example Essays Home
