Battling Peer Pressure

So, why am I suddenly writing about a social occurrence, rather that simply the things I see, touch, smell, feel, and er... taste? But I do see peer pressure. Everyday. Obviously I don't just go to class and sleep throughout the day. (How would I have gotten my highest ever average for the quarter that way? ^^ 91.60 <- shocking) Peer pressure, although not outright is in our class, our batch, and definitely in our school. It probably is in yours too, that is if you still go to school. But anyway, I realized today that peer pressure isn't just about how you dress, your slang, your habits, but it also includes those little things you don't think about anymore.

When the class just suddenly decides to stand up, what do you do? Of course you join in and think that you missed something. I know I do. If one of the classmate you admire laughs at a joke, you haven't really thought about, what is your reaction? I know I just laugh.

Where was I going with this again? Er...

Ah, yeah, that we should take into consideration what we are doing. We might not realize it, but we might already be doing something unpleasant to the Lord's eyes. This kinda applies a lot to those graduating students, like me. We're leaving our tiny, kinda stressful haven, where we're pretty much protected from "bad influences”，in whatever form these may be. When we leave (and our teachers never fail to remind us how close that day is getting), we leave the safety zone. It may be pretty obvious and such, but I don't think we really realize how much we are being shielded from the world. We get bored with the monotony of our classes （speaking for myself here) and want to leave as soon as possible．I expect to have a lot of fun in uni, and actually enjoy the classes, as we are the ones to choose which ones we are to take and which not to. But at the same time, we loose the familiarity of our so-called tiny building along Pasong Tamo Extension, ahem, Don Chino Roces Avenue, 　I　ｍｅａｎ．　

Too much, er, what did you call it again, routine, and life becomes boring, on the other hand, without any sort of routing, life becomes unbearable. Ok, so I'm exaggerating. When we leave big school, and go to bigger school, everything's new and exciting, and a little bit terrifying, but I for one intend to enjoy the transition... Gah! I've gone way off track again. *sigh* Anyway, my point is, college life will be, hands down, totally different from high school. I'm sure! *glances around* Yeah... No more teachers you can approach and start a "chika" kinda conversation. No more lounging around the Guidance Office during lunch. No more same set of classmates and classroom day in and day out. No more MHCS... How in the world did 12 years go by so quickly?!

Ok, so the previous paragraph was rambling and babbling rolled into one. My real point is that we're going to be in a completely different atmosphere and a new set of classmates, who will most likely have a completely different set of values. We can't just bend to what they believe in because we want to fit in and be accepted by them! If we do, what were those years in high school for? Everyone says that elementary and high school are just stepping stones towards uni (which is the stepping stone for life), if we discard the values (not only the info) we acquired during our time there, what was the point? It all becomes a waste.

People are unique beings. A person shouldn't have to pretend to be somebody he/she isn't. And you can't expect someone to fit a mold you made, just because you want them to. We don't have exactly the same DNA for a reason. We are different. Let's savor the diversity.

You know, I really did intend for this article to end up a completely different way, leading to another article about hypocrisy and stuff, but now... Ah...