So i'm going through some old cds, and i find some of my old files, and some of them happen to be essays i did in like the ninth grade. it was funny to re-read them, and also kind cool. i thought i'd post them here and give every one a chance to read them. ones on my opinion of peer pressure, and one was on a favorite, or memorable scar.

Peer Pressure: A Social Control

Most would say that peer pressure is bad, but in my opinion they haven’t looked at the whole issue. Peer pressure is nothing new, it’s not just something that teens face, it’s front and center in day-to-day life, and has been for thousands of years. Peer pressure is a form of social control, that all societies use to maintain a set of moral values and approved behaviors, that without which, all societies would fall.

Peer pressure is the statements or actions of the people around you that influence how you think, act, and speak. Some times this pressure to conform is positive, such as when a child learns to play nicely with others. Some times this pressure is negative, such as when a teen wants so badly to belong to something that he/she agrees to do things that he/she knows are wrong, just to fit in.

Negative peer pressure is such a small part of the over all system of peer pressure that it’s generally seen in pockets of population, how ever when these pockets show up, they tend to be over dramatized. An example of this is school populations. Teenagers feel the pull of peer pressure very strongly. In schools the pressure to conform to the "norm" is very strong and anyone who is different is seen as an outcast. Now the outcast can try to conform, can stay the same and endure the criticisms of other students, or can set up a new social order such as the so called "bad" kids at school. New outcasts will feel the pull of peer pressure to join this new society. This negative peer pressure is what gets the press.

Because we are so used to following the examples of the people around us and behaving as we are expected to we don’t see peer pressure at work in our positive actions. Most of us wouldn’t think of behaving in a way that would make us stand out from the crowd in a negative way. When we do, we generally have consequences that discourage us from doing it again, (suspension, expulsion, prison.)

In my opinion peer pressure is something the world needs in order to continue having and maintaining stable societies. I believe that peer pressure, as a concept is positive and necessary. Without peer pressure to help contain and control our negative urges we couldn’t have civilized societies. ©~Poisyn~

I have a bunch of scars, most of which I have no clue where or what they are from. I could write about, for example the one on my ankle, or the one on my back, or the one on the back of my right hand, or the ten or fifteen on my fingers, or the little one on my pinky-toe, so why did I pick this one? Because it is the most interesting (in my opinion) scar I have that I am able to remember just what happened and why.

The scar I’m going to tell you about I got because of my own stupidity and carelessness. This scar is actually two scars, and they are on my thumb. How I got them is a story known only to my brother (who saw it happen) and me. Everyone else only knows a bit of the truth and maybe a little lie.

When I was about twelve my brother let me read a book on witchcraft. I was surprised at how much of it was like my own beliefs, so being the little girl that I was, I decided that I was a witch (I know a little better now). I was going to do my own spells. One of the spells I made up was supposedly a love spell to make my crush fall in love with me (silly huh?). Well part of casting this spell was to cast a circle, call the corners, and so on, so I got all the stuff I needed, including a knife and my "potion". I put most of the stuff in my little backpack, except for the knife- because my "familiar" (my kitten Midnight) was in there, and the potion because that was too big and there was too big of a chance of it spilling.

I got suited up (it was the middle of the winter) and started my treck up the hill behind my dad’s house. I got to the first step on the path and I slipped on a big patch of ice. The potion spilled all over the place, Midnight jumped out of my bag and the knife fell to the ground leaving me with a few little "gifts" on its way down. I didn’t even know I had cut myself till I looked down and saw them, the four little notches on my pointer finger, and then the major cut on my thumb. It was about an inch long by half an inch wide and it was a deep cut. I looked at it and my first thought was "oh s***" (pardon my French). Then I thought about how much trouble I was going to be in when my dad got home. That thought alone was able to keep me from feeling the pain of the cut, till I started washing it anyway. Ryan had been in my room talking on the phone, and looking out my window when it happened so he saw me fall. He came right down and helped me clean the cuts and helped to calm me down. To this day, he has never told anyone what really happened (that I know of anyway). I told my dad and step-mom that I had found the knife and I was carrying it when I slipped on a patch of ice. Ryan backed me up on my little lie. I don’t think they really believed me but they left it alone. Since dad was an EMT, he helped me dress it and decided it wasn’t that big of a deal- meaning it wasn’t worth going to the hospital over. For a few weeks I had to wear band-aids over the cuts (there was a smaller one just below my second knuckle) and I had to keep them clean.

Now I’m sure you see why I said it was caused by my carelessness and stupidity. But in my defense, I was only twelve and I didn’t know any better, really, I didn’t. Anyway all kids do something stupid every now and again- most not as destructive or painful as mine- but hey, you were a kid once yourself so I’m sure you know what I mean.©~Poisyn~

yes, i was 12 when i was first introduced to witchcraft, and yes i thank ryan for this, with out him, i wouldn't be the witch i am today. (and i know my mood in writeing these bounces constantly, and i don't write offten enough.)