As you get older, you are going to be put in many situations where you will have to make decisions. Some of these decisions are going to be made easily, like deciding which classes you want to take next semester, and some of them are going to challenge your moral fiber, like deciding whether or not to skip class or to start smoking cigarettes. When you are faced with these problems, you are going to have to choose a path to take that may or may not change your life forever.

As if it wasn’t hard enough to make these decisions on your own, it becomes a thousand times harder when there are other people in the picture trying to tell you which choices they think you should make. Do you listen to your head? Do you listen to your friends or family or girlfriend/boyfriend? Can you live with the choice you make?

People who are around your age, like your friends or your classmates, are called peers. When they try to influence you to act or think a certain way, it’s called peer pressure, and it is something everyone goes through.

Some people give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked, they want to "fit in," or because they worry they’ll get made fun of if they don't do what others want. Some may go along because they are curious to try something new or to see how the crowd will react. It happens all the time. People will leave their moral fiber and their common sense behind because they are fooled by the idea that "everyone's doing it."

As hard as it is to say "no" to peer pressure, you have to remember that you are the one who has to live with your decisions. If you decide to go along with the crowd, you can’t blame someone else for your actions later on because you CHOSE to do it. If you decide that you don’t want to follow the crowd, remember these few things:

Stay polite: Even if you don’t want to give in to peer pressure, getting enraged won’t help the matter. It might even get you in to more trouble if a physical confrontation happens.

Give a reason: You can say anything from "I’m too busy right now", "I’m allergic", to "no thanks, I’m not in the mood." Have something ready in your head so you are prepared when the times comes.

Make a joke: Sometimes being silly can remove the tension and the spotlight that’s on you. Plus it might distract the person pressuring you and change the subject.

Remember to listen to that voice in your head. It is usually right.

Suggest another idea: Sometimes just flat out changing the subject is all you need to do. If someone pressures you to do something, simply say, "How about we _________ instead."

Walk away: Believe it or not, you don’t have to explain yourself. You do not have to give a reason for not wanting to do something because the only thing that matters is that you don’t want to do it. Your friends (or whoever is pressuring you) should respect your decision regardless of why you chose it.