Peer Pressure at the Boiling Crab
Last night, a group of us (9 adults total) went to the Boiling Crab for dinner. Everyone ordered a beer except for me. After a few “sissy” remarks, I decided to succumb to the peer pressure and ordered myself a Bud Light. I normally don’t drink beer. But last night, I did.
After drinking half the bottle, I looked around the room. My eyes followed this 1 or 2 year old little girl walking around. It was cute because, like all children her age, it looked like she was walking as if she had two left feet, a little goofy footed.
Being a parent myself, I smiled and grabbed my half full beer bottle. Suddenly, while everyone at the table was laughing a joke one of the guys told, I started to think about my childhood days. My junior high days in particular.
There were a lot of wannabe gangs back then. I remember specifically this group of girls that thoug ht highly of themselves and wore lots of makeup and had nice clothes. Where they got their clothes from, beats the heck out of me (I did find out how they got their clothes two years later, however). I lost a few friends to them.
I recall one of the girls who was my good friend in the 7th grade who decided to be a member of this girly “gang.” She kept telling me to join so we can both be pretty and popular. After many attempts to get me to join, she decided that I wasn’t cool enough to be her friend.
Fitting in wasn’t my concern. My self esteem was high enough to make new friends. Besides, seeing the change in her and watching her get into fist fights was enough to turn my back on her friendship. I certainly did not want to go home with a broken nose. And I definitely did not want a bamboo whipping from my mom (I’ll explain the bamboo whipping some other time).
So be it. I became friends with the “nerdier” kind. But I think my life turned out OK. Last I heard, that girl was pregnant at age 16 and the father of that baby was in juvi. I’m not saying that all “junior high gangsters” turned out that way. I just wonder how my life would have turned out if I had followed that path.
There was a lot of peer pressure back then. It seems as if Junior High is the most fragile stage in a teen’s life. The peer pressure may not be a big deal at first. As a matter of fact, you may think it is harmless - like that bottle of beer I ordered last night. But sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of pressure to make big changes in your child. That small decision that my friend in Junior High changed her life indefinitely. And really hope that the cute goofy footed little girl at the Boiling Crab isn’t going to be like my Junior High friend.