Hi, my name is Michael Hannah, and I am going to share
with you what I have learned about saying no and handling
the pressure of peers. Some might force you to try new things
that may be harmful to health, illegal or just plain bad.
In these types of situations, I often think of the media.
I have seen and learned how television, radio or movies
try to show you why you should try this new type of thing.
One of the examples is showing a skier having fun skiing
with a pole in one hand and holding a beer in the other.
In reality, you would probably crash and get hurt severely
and or hurt someone else if you did this.
Another good lesson was learning different ways to say
"no," such as demanding, unsure or confident.
Doing role-play acts helped me practice this. Lots of the
students in the lessons picked demanding, because it sounded
like a good way to keep the person away by having a demanding
state as you are refusing.
The most interesting lesson was when I spoke to older teens
from a high school that had already experienced these situations.
They gave great advice. I asked them questions such as "How
do you choose the right friends?" or "Have you
ever been offered drugs or alcohol or been asked and pressured
to do something that you were unsure of doing?"
Finally, in conclusion, you should never do drugs, something
that is bad, or something that you were not sure you should
do. To stay free from those things, people, especially kids,
should declare to choose to
hang around the right crowd now, in jr. high school and
beyond. I may have not known how to deal with it if I had
not learned how to react when you are getting pressured
to do something that you may not want to do.
