Social Binges

We’ve all witnessed the random drunk teenager, the group of kids that smoke in secret at the back of the school or get high before class. We’ve heard them claim they’re not addicted, that if it wasn’t for the fact that their friends passed them a blunt or the party would’ve been dull without that last shot, they never would’ve started dabbling in these seemingly harmless substances. There’s always been that imaginary line in each individual’s mind that they try to never cross; however, when we’re basing our excuses on things that revolve around our cliques, what happens when our groups of friends change? Do our morals evolve with the people we spend time with? I believe this is an issue that a lot of teenagers find themselves facing. The line between what is right and what is wrong starts to blur and kids can trade in their perspective with every beer they mindlessly gulp.

I think that most teenagers who smoke every day or get drunk on the weekends aren’t truly addicted to these drugs. If we think about it, we may walk around with a cigarette at a party or play beer pong with some friends, but when we’re home alone, more often than not, teenagers won’t drink themselves into a stupor or chain smoke during homework breaks. I’ve witnessed a lot of teens lose their mind over party favors, and make unwise decisions that they regret the next day. How can we stop these young men and women who believe that they’re simply living it up in high school before they start a career, a family? Most of them seem to confuse drinking, smoking, popping a pill socially with not being addicted. The truth is, they may not be addicted now, but every time they associate having fun with doing these drugs, the further they are to appreciating the fun that can be had sober.

I am a realist, and I would definitely never preach abstinence or sobriety to a high school full of teenagers, but I do believe there’s a limit. If you are truly a social dabbler, don’t push it over the edge, and don’t try and convince yourself that it would be a lame weekend without that bottle of Smirnoff. If that state of mind carries over from adolescence into adulthood, we could create decades of unhealthy binges that are no longer a social experience, but a daily necessity.

Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous

In this economy, the number of financially stable, successful families is dwindling. The middle class is seeping into the lower class and, in rare cases, riding the wave up to the neighborhoods of the rich and the famous. We may think that these hardships cause distress to the adults responsible alone; however, the children involved are often more vulnerable, and suffer more. As a teenager, I know how vital it is to have money in your pocket: we eat on Park Street for lunch, which can cost upwards of five dollars a day. We are always looking for new, fun things to do on a weekend night, and usually that involves delving into those pockets and relinquishing our hard-earned chores money. The pressure to live up to the rich is not a figment of today’s screenwriters’ imagination; those with money are usually more well-known, more admired, since they are not stuck home on a Friday night because they couldn’t afford the newest Pixar movie.

I have had a job since the beginning of the school year, and I live off of 200 dollars every two weeks. I pay for my own food, clothes, activities - you name it, it came out of my pay check. In some ways, I’m thankful for the money: I don’t have to ask for anything, I have financial freedom and independence. On the other hand, having to pay a monthly phone bill and juggle the responsibilities of school and a social life is seriously stressful. I know there are a lot of children in my situation, so sick of splitting the family’s money between siblings and unavoidable household necessities that they decide to make their own living. But what about those who can’t handle school, work and play? How realistic is it to assume that children are going to give up a Saturday to finish that essay they couldn’t do before work?

As much as we teens hear that it is what’s on the inside that matters, we tend to be more impressed with peers who are driving the newest car, wearing the latest jacket, going out every weekend with a fistful of money they didn’t have to earn. Maybe those of us who are victims of this economy should embrace thrift stores and undesirable work hours, if only to allow us to let the outside match the inside.

To Be or Not To Be

Every day, millions of impressionable teenagers go to school only to be bullied and judged because of their sexual orientation. Being gay is not just a political issue, or something that we see on TV or hear on the radio, but never actually touches us. In actuality, a percentage of those students that sit next to us in class, or brush our shoulders in the hallways, will turn out to be gay. I had a really close friend in Alaska who was gay, and he came out in middle school; while he was very popular, he never had a boyfriend and was always excluded by the more insecure boys that went to our school. Being gay was never something he chose; it was just always a part of him. And regardless of whether you believe in nature or nurture affecting someone’s sexual orientation, he was undoubtedly gay, and suffered every day for it.

Because being gay is such a controversial topic that has the public, or more importantly older generations, either completely supportive of it or completely against it, teenagers may feel like they don’t have a say in how they feel. We can’t vote yet, and most days we don’t even have a voice strong enough to be heard. And what about those gay teens who go home every day to parents that are very clearly disgusted by the gay and lesbian community? It may be dramatically portrayed in the movies, but a lot of the drama we see is real and unintentionally based on someone’s lifestyle. There are teenagers who pretend to be something they’re not just to hold on to their parents love. It is a sad way to live, having to hide from the people who should embrace you regardless of who you are.

There are some brave people out there, who put on a façade and marry the opposite sex despite how they really feel. But I think it is braver to be who you truly are; men and women who have more opportunities and support from the community have embraced their roots. Some have undergone gender reassignment surgeries, others have bowed out of their marriages to explore those feelings they’ve always kept under the surface. I hope one day, all the students who go to school ashamed of their true feelings are brave enough to come out, and are accepted for it.

What Is Sacred, And What Is Sin

California is seen as the liberal state, the hippy state that supports legal marijuana, random tree-sitters, and most of all, the gays. When our state voted to legalize gay marriage, I thought, Finally! This country’s doing something to decrease discrimination and blur those ancient lines between what is sacred and what is sin. But when proposition eight was passed, and the gays were denied their human right to marriage, I lost a lot of faith in our society. I know that the majority of the men and women voting against gay marriage are like my grandparents, old and set in their ways. My grandpa, the Marine veteran, claims that by letting the gays marry, it takes away some of the value and significance of his own marriage. I believe that at some point in the past, more than 50% of the country thought that women were better off not voting, or blacks were better off as slaves, with almost no rights. But with each generation, the perception of what is ethically sound has been reconstructed to fit the needs of the individual, not the reigning religion or government figure.

I don’t necessarily think that people who believe gay marriage is a sin are bad people, but I do believe that they are blind-sighted to the needs of others, because they can’t relate and it doesn’t personally affect them. I believe this quote is relevant:

“They came for the communists and I said nothing, because I wasn’t a communist. They came for the homosexuals and I said nothing, because I wasn’t a homosexual. They came for the Jews and I said nothing, because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.”

When are we going to stand up for the underdog, the ones who are deserving and rewarding but can’t fight on their own? How are we, as straight people, expected to judge alternative lifestyles? I’m white, and I have no idea what it’s like to be black: but I know that the blacks should have every single right that I do. It is astounding that with the number of people who are completely supportive of gay marriage, it isn’t yet legal. If our country is so wonderful because of our racial and religious tolerances, why can’t we learn to tolerate personal decisions like sexual orientation?

The "D" Word

My grandparents have been together over forty years, and are the ultimate couple. They are each other’s complete opposites and they have faced more trials and tribulations in their marriage than most of us could probably fathom. I look at them as an inspiration, but I know that in our generation, they are viewed as the exception. More than fifty percent of all marriages in the United States end in divorce, but these couples don’t just leave behind their naïve, hopeful youth, but more often than not, a child or a family that is torn apart. The question is, should we behave as our elders and stick with an unhappy marriage, praying it will all work out for the better, or should we accept defeat when we feel our marriage has ended and move on with our lives?

I guess you could say that my brother, sister and I are victims of the increasing divorce rate. Our parents were separated for two years before finalizing their divorce only months ago, and while they promised a civilized divorce, they have managed to seriously break their promise. I believe that our economy is partly to blame for the divorce rate: how is a marriage expected to work when the couple is always fighting over incomes, bank statements, the financial risks of realizing and exploring a dream of theirs? Divorce is a big problem that has many people questioning the very foundation of marriage, a life-long love that has been emphasized by classic Disney movies and Hallmark holidays.

Lately, I’ve been wondering if those Polygamist communities and Mormon families have the right idea: is monogamy a wasted cause? Growing old together is a romantic notion, but how often does this happen, not including those couples who are confined by religion or family obligation to stay in their marriage. Who actually want to be with one person, forever and always? I completely believe in marriage and the foundation of a lifestyle together, but sometimes I wonder if there are too many cheaters, beaters and non-believers in the way of every decent person finding their true soul mate.

The Facades in Everybody

Of all the issues that teenagers face today, one of the more discreet problems comes from the intangible idea of depression. We may walk around school and spot the creepy student with the harsh makeup, greasy hair and draping clothes and assume they are a disturbed, possibly suicidal teenager just surviving the day-to-day realities of high-school and adolescence. However, what we fail to do more often than not, is approach this person, give them a chance, or give ourselves a chance to change our stereotypical ideals. Sometimes, those suffering the most aren’t outwardly displaying their inner conflicts, but instead waging a constant war within their own selves and keeping it private. The popular person at school who is always at every party, constantly surrounded by hordes of people, can be the loneliest person in the room. They may go home every day, conflicted on the inside, but log on to the various chat websites and post a false, happy status update. We’re not all able to express our feelings, because sometimes the fear of rejection or judgement is overwhelming.

When I lived in Alaska, I encountered a lot of people who were both outwardly and inwardly depressed. My friend Sarah was always the center of attention, but she would complain about how much she felt relied on to be the comedian, the entertainment in a group of expectant people. We all stereotype others, whether we do it subconsciously or with a full realization of what we are doing. My friend has a strict as hell grandpa who dresses in hawaiin shirts and talks about his days spent smoking marijuana. But because we look at his coffee stained jeans and overgrown garden, we assume he is laid back and not easily fazed. We assume those wearing Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch brands are preppy and upbeat; usually, this stereotype is true. However, the clothes on someone’s back does not translate into a happy home life, a worry free feeling towards college, a full wallet.

Teens may push aside feeling of depression because there is no physical sign of this disease: it just is. And without proof, who wants to believe they have a psychological problem? I believe that happiness is essential to a stable environment, and teenagers, whether they feel insuperior because of clothes, grades, friends, sports, or family matters, need to learn to accept their flaws and realize their problems are indivisual but they are not alone in facing them.

Teenage Violence

One of the worst, seemingly unavoidable problems that teens have faced since the dawn of time is violence. This one word contains so much meaning: the freshman who is constantly bullied at school is a victim of violence; the wife who goes home every night to an abusive husband is a victim of violence; and the dead body lying in a random parking lot, the outcome of gang-related tension, is a victim of violence. All of these situations are circumstantial, metaphorical, and yet they are true somewhere in the world. How can one word describe so much heartache, devastation, disaster? Teenagers today learn by example, whether they witness abuse at home, or catch an old re-run of a cop show on TV. We see the gangs portrayed in cinema, and we are not oblivious to the racial cliques and outdated slurs. The adults recognize this problem and many have invested time and taxes in bringing us teenagers together in unity with programs such as DARE, but ultimately the responsibility lies with us.

I believe that the whole idea of violence stems from one of two things: peer pressure, or jealousy. With teens, fights can break out over boy/girl trouble, or the fallout of a friend talking about another behind their back. With every fight that breaks out, there is always a group of supporters backing each side, whispering in the other’s ear, escalating the drama and causing more of a scene. The older boys or jocks at a high school are constantly trying to live up to that standard: the tough guys, always seen giving nerds wedgies in classic references. I’ve witnessed the gays of our school being teased and looked down on on more than one occasion. Jealousy or insecurity plays a strong role in the violence we teens witness every day.

I think it’s disturbing when as soon as a fight breaks out, regardless of whom is involved, a horde of people surround the scene, pulling out their camera phones, encouraging, degrading. I know the idea of unity in a high school is unrealistic, improbable, and will almost definitely never happen, but I still imagine what life would be like if us teenagers were all understanding and compatible. Alameda High with no racial or sexual tension, no jealousy and no unnecessary fighting. Teenagers are territorial and insecure, but we need to realize we are not eachother’s enemies.

Family Matters

When people turn on the television to one of those popular nineties TV shows, possibly Roseanne or Full House, the audience is greeted with a surprisingly realistic take on family relationships. In Roseanne, for example, the family was constantly dealing with financial issues, sibling rivalries, and rocky adult romances. Full House slightly cushioned the sometimes dark aspects of family life by adding a pair of cute twins, and a decade full of hugs. However, speaking from personal experience, issues aren’t always resolved with a joke, and sappy music filling the background.

My sister and I are extremely close in age; we not only have to share a house, but also a school, makeup, and the occasional pair of jeans. I am very thankful for some of our differences: for example, we have extremely different taste in guys. Phew. Another thing, she is very interested in team sports, and that’s just not my forte. Her and my brother seem to get along oddly well, sometimes double teaming me, forming this weird posy of red-heads that dominate the house-hold. My family’s past includes my aunt and uncle, who died of drug overdose two weeks apart from eachother, leaving two children, Kenny and Jenny, behind. Jenny became addicted to everything, and while Kenny rebelled and was a frequent smoker, drinker, and Juvi resident, he has managed to overcome a lot in these past fifteen years: he just had a baby girl with his girlfriend, Lucy, who is adorable.

My grandparents on my dad’s side are old-fashioned, the fake blonde with the long nails and the strict marine. My grandparents on my mother’s side are hippies: they in the woods of Orinda, and are extremely kind-hearted. My aunt Tiffany had a questionable past, but now she just had a baby, and has the most genuine of boyfriends. My great-grandma Nonie loves talking about her alcoholic past, her abortions, and all matters of nonsense: she just turned 87, but you’d never guess it. And of course, my Mom and Dad, now divorced, have always been my rock. We are all very close, meeting together every Sunday night for dinner, all sixteen of us. But we are hardly traditional; yes, we have the typical holiday celebrations, filled with love and war, but we as individuals are so different. We truly are a random group of people, but with one similar belief: that it’s family that matters.

Behind Closed Lockers, Pt.2

Anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating, over-exercising, night eating, and orthorexia: these are all uncommonly known forms of eating disorders, commonly found in school environments. Peers of those suffering from one or more of these disorders don’t always recognize the more discreet of signs. Most recognize their friends and family as having an issue when they are starving themselves, or always dashing to the bathroom after a particularly filling meal. However, what about the teens who never leave the gym, those who constantly count calories and nutrition facts until it becomes a serious obsession? These signs may be less noticeable, but they can reveal a serious form of self-consciousness.

Teenagers these days feel pressure to be the same size as the starved, over-exercised models and TV personalities in society today. One of the biggest issues we need to address is just how beautiful the individual woman is, and how no two body types are comparable. Girls who have naturally fast metabolisms may be envied by others around them who have to work for their body types, but how do we know if those girls are truly thankful for what they have? A friend of mine is constantly complemented on her skinny waist and non-existent butt, but she dreads shopping because she is always forced to look in the Junior section, she is never hit on by boys older than Junior High because she doesn’t look out of Junior High herself, and she is constantly grabbing Twinkies and Ho Ho’s in hopes of gaining that extra pound, a habit that has caused a semi-serious addiction to chocolate and fast food. Why are we all so unhappy being who we are naturally?

I support the idea of a healthy body, healthy mind; however, health is subjective. Those with a size 2 waist may look slim and healthy, but they may be constantly staving off hunger, pale from malnutrition under all their makeup. And those with a size 10 waist may come off as doughy or slightly overweight, but in actuality they manage 3 healthy meals a day, and have a consistent workout routine. Every body is different, and every way our bodies react to diets and exercise is different. I support a long future of healthy children, despite our rapidly increasing overweight society, but we as teenage girls need to realize we can be healthy and beautiful without looking like our favorite characters.

Paragraph Annotation of "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria"?

(10.) Prejudice is one of the inescapable consequences of living in a racist society. Cultural racism—the cultural images and messages that affirm the assumed superiority of Whites and the assumed inferiority of people of color—is like smog in the air. Sometimes it is so thick it is visible, other times it is less apparent,[9] but always, day in and day out, we are breathing it in. None of us would introduce ourselves as “smog-breathers” (and most of us don’t want to be described as prejudiced), but if we live in a smoggy place, how can we avoid breathing the air? If we live in an environment in which we are bombarded with stereotypical images in the media, are frequently exposed to the ethnic jokes of friends and family members, and are rarely informed of the accomplishments of oppressed groups, we will develop the negative ideas about those groups that form the basis of prejudice. […]

I annotated this paragraph by circling the first word “inescapable”, underlining it and writing “WE CAN EVOLVE!” in all caps. I believe that our society has shown great improvement in even the past century when it comes to respecting other races, and I think the word “inescapable” does not belong anywhere near this topic. I also took the phrase “cultural racism” and made a connection to other phrases that I believe personally affect society as well, including “cultural sexism”. We learn from our peers, advisors, and people in power. We as a culture are individually responsible for what we think as a population. I agreed with the statement that the “assumed inferiority of people of color-is like smog in the air”; I think this is such a strong analogy: we are all exposed to the negative effects of everyone around us, none of us are immune but we can each help reverse it. I also underlined the term “ethnic jokes”, expressing that they are not jokes if they are sincere. Every random remark is taken into consideration by someone out there, even if it is just a passing statement. And if someone says it, even as a joke, they are contributing to the already smoggy atmosphere we live in today.

Behind Closed Lockers, Pt.1

Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Supernatural: these are names of some of the CW’s most popular shows, and besides receiving high praise and acknowledgment for the plot lines and actor’s acting abilities, these shows are more commonly recognized for their leading ladies: the double 0’s who flaunt their jutting collar bones and pronounced rib cages. Today, teens and young children are more influenced than ever by what they see in the public, and when the television industry is capitalizing on these “sexy, youthful” women, who in actuality are scary thin, the desire to be that size can spread like the plague.

Every minute there are girls out there, obsessively counting nutrition values, running to the bathroom after a weak moment and sticking a finger down their throat; but why? Because we are raised to believe that thin is beautiful. And while being in shape and healthy is a desired look, the women and more importantly young girls out there are looking past the healthy aspect and instead focusing on the final objective and getting there by any means possible. I have personally visited the rooms of many of my friends, from the super-thin to the slightly chunky, and in most rooms, including my own, I’ve seen chopped up posters, magazine covers and ads plastered on the walls: some to reflect individual personality, and in the case of one of my closest friends, a seemingly unattainable goal.

I was watching an episode of a talk show, which capitalized on teenagers who go to extreme measures to look like women on TV, until they push it too far and begin considering even their idols as obese. One young girl was so desperate, she did nothing but eat baby powder mixed with water to quench her hunger; another would put toothpaste on her back teeth in chunks so she would carry around that flavor all day and not be able to eat anything. It reaches a point where the malnourished, gaunt look becomes unattractive and repulsing. So why do girls continue to do it? After all the dieting, over-exercising, binging and purging, does it come down to the want to impress a boy, to live up to that idol, to raise self-esteem? It reaches a point where the need to be skinny isn’t fueled by personal desire, but by the mind’s new warped idea that skinny is never skinny enough.

A Dangerous Sensuality

When we think about the people of a hundred years ago, the women with their tight corsets and covered ankles, projecting a false modesty, we conjure up an image of a completely different world than the one of today. Young girls wearing short shorts and small tops have become fashionable; the intrigue involved with the sensuality of women has almost disappeared. A lot of this we see at the theatres, on our most popular channel, on that show that’s been praised by all reviewers. It’s no wonder that each year, almost 750,000 women aged 15-19 become pregnant, according to guttmatcher.org. How are we supposed to act on our individual thoughts and desires when they’ve been corrupted by this modern day world?

Despite the fact that more young women are sexually active than they would admit, the media is not always to blame. Peers and lovers are often the underlining reason these women are losing their virginity left and right. In high-school, teens tend to form cliques, a social order where everyone inside a group can be stereotypically categorized as “sluts” or “prudes”, or anywhere in between. When we see very affectionate couples in the hall, inappropriately displaying some form of PDA, some of us cringe with displeasure and others feel a pang of jealousy. Deep inside, we all want to be a part of that “dream couple”, but nowadays the relationship between two teenagers has very real consequences. The most important issue involved with young sex, I believe, is young love. Girls more than boys can get carried away with the idea of romance: constantly doodling in notebooks and finding a way to fit his name into every conversation. But how is this affecting them as people?

Girls who decide to explore their sexuality can and will be quickly labeled as “sluts”; this is where the infamous double standard fits in. Boys who manage to get that girl into bed with them are high-fived and congratulated, looked upon enviously by other pubescent boys who haven’t yet found a girl. I think that when boys put pressures on girls, the emotional baggage can be more significant than the physical consequences, no matter how severe. I believe that we as teenagers need to have access to protection, because realistically we are not all going to keep it in our pants.

“Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow”… “‘Cause Baby You My Everything”

Hundreds of years ago, the “language of love” was expressed through sweet poetry hummed between strums of a guitar. As we’ve evolved, however, so have our means of expression, our standards becoming vastly limited. What happened to the puppy dog lovers we saw in the movies, gawking up at a balcony in a Romeo-esque way, professing their love? Or, when young girls would be tuned into a favorite radio station, and hear a sappy dedication? In the days of I pods and text messaging, where is the real need for the romanticized version of courting? I believe that the way we approach those we are interested in, for example leaving a love letter in a locker as compared to sending exposed photos of ourselves through our cell phones, shapes the relationship we develop.

A popular song that has been cycling through the radio stations for months opens with a line claiming: “Baby you my everything, you all I ever wanted”; special, isn’t it? However, if we keep listening, we will come across lines that are not quite so subtle, such as: “Know you got a roommate, call me when there’s no one there/Put the key under the mat and you know I’ll be over there”. It is songs like these that make me wonder how our generation could be so blind to the implications of these lyrics. Do these evolved versions of romantic poetry, with their disturbing suggestive dialogue, really make women feel unique, adored, and special? I believe that unfortunately, in this day and age, many women out there are desperately searching for some form of validation, even if it’s hidden with a smiley face through a text message or a scandalous picture e-mailed through MySpace.

The realities of a teenage relationship today have evolved drastically in the past decades. We still have the same hormones, the same vanity and the same rebellious natures; nevertheless, we are much more upfront about it. Popular websites such as FaceBook and MySpace, by-products of the modern age, have only helped aide us in this insincere form of courting. Shouldn’t we stick to our roots and try using subtlety, if only for the sake of diversity? I believe once we discard our picture messaging and invest in a flower and box of candy, we will have taken a wonderful, important step backwards.

Which Epidemic is it Now?

In today’s society, the women displayed on magazine covers across the nation are praised for their perfect physiques and admired for their size 2 pant size. However, lately us as a society have been told by talk-show hosts and people alike that the normal woman’s body, a size 14/16, needs to be embraced as a beautiful reality. This statement is further contradicted by the trainers, athletes and motivators of our country: the men and women who tell us our calorie consumption is too high; our level of carbohydrate intake is intense; and our generation will be the first in recorded history to eat ourselves into an earlier death than the generation before us.

My point is, that while the people influencing the motivation for a toned body and healthier lifestyle are being looked down on for having too high of expectations, it is really the single overweight person out there who is creating this unrealistic idea. Shouldn’t those of us who eat right, exercise regularly, and just generally take care of our bodies have a visually pleasing body? And isn’t this way of living considered universally as the correct, smartest way to extend your life? Then why is the public trying to glorify the overweight and borderline obese population by creating reality shows such as “More to Love” and “Dance Your Ass Off”? I believe that if the public continues to accept this newly labeled “disease”, the statistics will worsen. Already, by the time they leave school, one in three children is overweight, according to an article in Telegraph.

What will happen when franchises such as McDonald’s and Wendy’s, which are already benefiting from the invention of the dollar menu, create a world where no street corner is without a drive-through? In this economy, everyone from soccer moms to big-time investors are taking advantage of these deals and treating their families to frequent trips to these “restaurants”. However, despite a scientific claim to support this fact, the fast food industry has created a Meca of food establishments by using craving-inducing substances and fats that keep the public coming back. In this sensitive time, where the fate of the environment is questionable and the financial burden is back-breaking, we need to take the reigns and unite as a healthy, focused group of Americans, who will not sit still and let the population fade into oblivion.

Cliques and Stereotypes in a Media-Influenced World

In today’s society, the cliques we often see in the most popular sitcoms, movies or hear from lines in a song portray different, exaggerated versions of real cliques teenagers come across in school. Unfortunately, more often than not, drugs, alcohol, sex, and obsessive partying are used by the media as a way to represent the “cool group”. So, while "Just Say No" is being constantly thrust upon us by eager counselors or worried parents, some teenagers may still go to that party, open a beer, and get carried away. How can we, as peers, be expected to turn a blind eye to the negatives of this epidemic to be involved with the “in crowd”, when our friends cry to us about drunken exploits they wish they could take back?

Peer pressure is in every clique, even if it slyly disguises itself behind a Facebook comment or unassuming text message. The athletes, for example, traipse through school with their embroidered jackets and bags, but what are they really dealing with besides the stereotypical assumption of a need for more time to enhance their biceps? Their supportive peers are also their biggest competition; constantly critiquing and always watching. Some athletes may even be pressured into trying a form of perfomance-enhancing drugs. And what about the unfairly labeled “geeks” and “nerds” of our schools? We may not fraternize outside our intertwining cliques, but we know who they are. Can we honestly think that they don’t have impossible standards set on them by family and friends? Their friends may put pressure on them by expecting them to make Honor Roll, expecting them to take AP classes. Expectations. The labeled “stoners” are always expected to say yes to smoking that blunt, taking that pill. But why?

Why are we, as children, finding it easier to accept this distorted view of organized social placement and insensitive rejection? Because the media, today’s largest source of information, reminds us of our social standing every day, of our inproportionate, imperfect, average body types, of the expensive things we can not afford. And this will never be put to rest; cliques and stereotypes will continue to run rampant in our society, because it is just human nature.