Are You "In" or "Out"?

Centuries and decades have past, yet one thing that persists and remains the same among teenagers is peer pressure. I will be discussing the 'fitting in' aspect of teen social problem. Let me begin with a story of a young freshmen in high school. He sees the upperclassman on his bus completely regaling and loves to be part of them. As a result, he tries to lie his way into the crowd. It is evident to them that his bluffing, so they disregard whatever he says. This just goes to show a live experience of an attempt by a "new kid" to fit in. There are many examples that goes beyond being accepted into a group.  You may be pressured in defining your identity, behavior, or language. 

Teens do crazy stuff to fit in. They find themselves in conflict between being cool or being themselves, just because they wish to be part of the “in” crowd. Some with appropriate and respectful behaviors have adopted not-so-great behavior like behaving rudely, using cuss word, and participating in illegal activities. From my point of view, self-actualization (psychology, sorry Ms. Basi) plays a role in overcoming the need to fit into a crowd that might make you feel uncomfortable anyways. Once you know who are and what you stand for, I believe it takes twice the effort for that necessity to influence you. Most teens experience self-actualization at different period. If it results in you not fitting in with the popular kids, so be it, but with over 200 million teens in the U.S. and up to a billion teens around the world, I doubt the likelihood for that to occur.