The world is a very noisy place, it is very easy to get distracted and stray from one's true path. Everyone seems to have an opinion about how a person should live his/her life but there was one thing I discovered at the early stage of my life, anyone can give you an advice but when it is time for you to reap the consequences of your actions, all that will be left will be just you, you alone. I have always had this at the back of my mind as I progress in life.
One of the greatest influence in a teenager or students life is peer pressure. There is something about most humans that I detest, the need to be acknowledged. The saddest thing about most humans is that we do a lot of things just to be accepted by others, so that we wouldn't be left alone or treated like an outcast. This is one of the primary reason a lot of students always wants to roll with the crowd just be seen, this lifestyle never sit well with me or should I say I just chose to be the opposite.
Throughout my days in school, I was never really the people's person. I'm more of a loner, someone who enjoys his own company. The one thing people are terrified of which is "loneliness" is the one thing I have accepted as a lifestyle. I do things without having to wait for anyone acknowledgement or judgment, I was never scared to walk alone or sit alone. Having the mindset that I alone decide the path my life no one else, my life - my choices. I believe to an extent, this made me immune to peer pressure, how would you pressure someone that doesn't have friends or care about what people thinks.
I never craved attention from anyone or wait to be applauded for my good deeds. If I had to do something, it is because it was the right thing to do not because I want to get appraised. I was never a clout chaser, I might say funny things sometimes just to change the mood around me but that is it. So before anyone starved me of attention, care or anything, I already starved myself of those things. Having this kind of mindset as students definitely made me immune to peer pressure but also made me an outcast.
The funny thing was that, in school I only related with people on academic basis and the moment the academic exercise ends, I move back to my comfort zone which is being by myself and doing my own things. As time goes on, my colleagues realised there was nothing that could be done to change who I'm, so instead of them trying to change who I'm, they started developing the habit of accepting me for who I'm.
I understand one thing that most people don't, when you are a person of value, you don't don't need to prove anything to anyone, you don't need to chase people, people will always seek you because you are valuable. So instead of always trying so hard to be accepted by people, I spent more time improving myself, to an extent I became a person people want to be like and I was able to achieve all this by just being myself.
This write-up was inspired by weekly prompt "What is your approach to dealing with peer pressure" in hive student connect community.
Cover image - 𝖣𝖾𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗏𝖺
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