High School Imagine this… You forget to set your alarm, so you wake up late. You rush to get ready. As you are driving out of the driveway you realize you are low on gas. You finally make it to class, but you are late. One more tardy and you have Saturday school. Your second period class has a pop quiz which you are not prepared for. When you go to the restroom you over hear two of your friends making fun of your outfit. You are wondering if this day could possible get any worse. And then it does. Your boyfriend of nine months picks this day to break up with you. At one time or another every high schooler will experience a day similar to this. This is an illustration of why the high school years can be the most difficult times in a young person’s life. For example, peer pressure is something every high schooler will face on frequent bases. In an article in the current issue of Parenting Magazine, Katelyn Smith reports that an increase in the number of high school students have been exposed of the common peer pressures in today’s society: drugs, alcohol, and sex. Have you ever been put in a situation where all eyes are on you and you felt like you have to say yes or you will be ridiculed? Studies from the Adolescence Association indicate that roughly 80% of high school students experience peer pressure throughout their high school career. My parents have always told me to,” Say no to peer pressure!” The second most difficult time of a high school student is dealing with petty drama. In addition to friends talking behind your back as in the example already given above, there are many other types of drama. As seen in the movie Mean Girls, cliques abound in high school. One indicator of a clique is that the members must follow unwritten rules to remain a member. For instance, the type of clothes you wear, the people you can associate with, and where you sit in the lunch room. Psychologist Jeffery Davis stated that the reason cliques are popular is because of the strong need to belong to a group. Finally, the stress related with making college decisions increases as high schooler’s near graduation. These decisions include whether to go to college, a trade’s school, or straight into the work force. Once the decision is made to go to college, you have to determine which school you want to go too and will be accepted into. Once these decisions are finalized you have to decide what course of study you would like to major in. In a survey conducted by researchers at Auburn University, subjects were asked to choose if they were going to college after high school or going straight into the work force. The results indicate that more than half of the subjects chose to go to college after high school. As you can see, the high school years are the most challenging of your life. Pressure to conform with peers, along with the everyday drama with cliques, combine to make life difficult for high schooler’s. Add to this all of the life decisions related to college, you have one stressful high school life.