Whenever the topic of peer pressure comes to mind, my brain quickly recalls the lyrics from Teni's "Hustle" because it resonates with the way it happens.
In the beginning of the song, it goes like this:
"Sometimes it feels like success is a trap."
"And sometimes it feels like people don’t understand"
"Because the pressure is plenty and expectations are high"
At times in life, what matters to the world about you is your success, and how you're going to achieve it is none of their business; all they want is for you to make it the way your friends are living.
With this, the environment becomes odd and unacceptable, and one might be pushed to do what others are doing just to get through and escape the trap of success. Indeed, at that moment, chasing success feels like a trap, and if care is not taken, one might get hurt in the process and if finally succeeded, the marks of those cuts become scars that stay with the body forever.
I don't know why the world is like this; humans expect too much from people, and we can't help it because it's been like this from the start.
In the few years I've lived on Earth, I've undergone different series of peer pressures at different levels and ages.
Some years back, I felt the urge to go into internet fraud because it was and still is what is trending, and the world(Nigeria) has accepted it as a means of survival for the youth. I was financially struggling, finding it hard to meet life's demands, and looking at my peers, they were all doing fine, living very comfortably with the money they were making from internet fraud. Most of them knew me to be a church person, so they would come with bags of names, pouring scorn on me, such as "Mr. Righteousness" or "Heaven's Usher." To be honest, all of this used to penetrate my thoughts, tempting me to give in to their lifestyle, but my instinct was just too strong to succumb to it.
Many times, I would see their posts on Facebook about their new houses and cars, and my heart would ache while comparing myself to them, but in the end, I would muster the strength to carry on because I didn't want to succumb to their fraudulent lifestyle, even though it no longer appeared to the world as a crime.
Well, I'm glad I didn't fall for that. Although things have not yet balanced out, I'm a bit relieved by the progress I'm making. Sourcing funds from different places, even though the pay isn't huge, has been helping me push on in life.
"But peer pressure is good; it makes someone leave their comfort zone."
Many have the opinion that peer pressure is good because it pushes someone to work harder. The truth is that leaving one's comfort zone is highly commendable, but that shouldn't come at the expense of a 'dead' heart.
What do I mean by a dead heart? When the heart has suffered greatly and been influenced to achieve success in a dubious way. No, it shouldn't be like that.
Let the world (we who are in the world) reduce our high expectations of people. Peer pressure will surely die off, or at least, be tamed.
Thanks for reading.
This is for day 11 of #Aprilinleo prompt.
Do well to read the full details here
| Video from YouTube|