Students find it hard to fight peer pressure.

The teen years can be rough. Students are figuring out who they are, who their friends are. It can be comforting knowing that most everyone is going through the same struggles.

Sometimes, the stresses in life can come from peers. Peer pressure may be expressed openly (“Oh, c’mon, it’s one beer”) or more indirectly.

Sometimes groups of friends can make subtle hints without even saying anything at all.

”My freshman year is when the peer pressure got to me the most,” said junior Mallory Farrell.

Peer pressure can be hard to resist. Someone could feel peer pressured into doing something just because other people are doing it.  Students may feel pressure just to be socially accepted by others.

Responding to peer pressure is human nature, but some teens are more likely to give in easily.

“I’ve done things that I’m not proud of because of feeling pressured into doing it,” said senior Dylan Buchanan.

It’s not always easy to resist negative peer pressure, but when you do it’s easy to feel good about it afterward. You may even be a positive influence on your peers who feel the same way.

”I don’t always feel pressured into doing something, if I say, “No, it means no,” said sophomore Mollie Franklin.

”It really depends on how bad it is for me to do it. If I know I’ll get in trouble or caught, I won’t do it,” said junior Canaan Sloane.