A few lessons I’ve learned from 7th grade is that people should accept you for who you are, and if they cannot they are not the people for you. Moreover, you should not change yourself for someone else’s satisfaction. People are like snowflakes, each and different. We should take pride in knowing that were all peculiar in our own ways.

            I was never a popular child at school. I only had a few friends and we were considered, odd. In November, my family and I took a 3 month vacation during the school year. After I came back, everyone was surprised. Usually, they thought I went to rehab or something or I got kidnapped and they would keep their distance from me even though that was not the case. But unusually, the most popular boy in our grade, Ashton, became fast friends with me. Or at least I thought. I started to hang out with the cooler youth and my old, real friends floated away. I had become rude and naive as well as falling behind in studies. I was blind, I was gaining fake friends, and my old real ones ran away from like a deer chase by a lion.

            The sun was smiling the day my parents sprang the news on me. They told me that we were moving from Toronto to Mississauga. I was mad and happy at the same time, I thought I would have to leave my old friends, but I would gain a fresh start. I felt like a child all over again, new school, new friends. The first day of 8th grade, I came 10 minutes late, seeing as  my bus forgot me. I was put into a class of random people I did not know. But little did I know, these people would help me make the best memories of my life.

            8th grade was the best year of my life. It was when I discovered who I was. I only had six or seven friends but it was good enough for me. They accepted me and I did not have to change myself for their happiness, they made sure I had a constant smile on my face. They were my rock when I needed them and I was theirs. I even keep our class photo on my desk to remind me of them. To remind me of all the memories I will always cherish.

            Around the world, Ninety percent of teenagers go through peer pressure to fit-in, or become popular. And three-quarters say that giving in to peer pressure boots their social status. But it also ruins their lives. I had learned that I did not need to change my personality to please another. And I learned that the hard way.