They Jumped, I Jumped - Essay Example

Often times, the consequences for these mistakes reflect the overall seriousness of the error. Sometimes, however, the cost can be far greater than a person might have originally conceived. Perhaps for a young person, there can be no bigger mistake than getting caught up in a group think or peer pressure situation. I have often prided myself on being someone who thinks for themselves, who doesn’t allow peer pressure to get to them. However, I only became this way after a huge mistake, which cost me dearly.

This nearly life-altering mistake occurred in my junior year of high school. I had just started a new school after my mother had received a new job on the other side of town. It was difficult to leave my friends and my home, all that I had known for many years. I was nervous and anxious because I was not sure that I would be able to fit in at this school, or that I would not be able to find new friends. It turned out that my fears were rather prophetic as I was unable to make any substantial relationships.

The problem, of course, being that in high school groups are rather unchangeable, and most people are not willing to let someone new join their ranks. This is basic group psychology, perhaps. It was only a month or two into my time at the new school that my horrible mistake occurred, and I see now that it was born out of desperation to be accepted, in addition to the psychological pressures of conformity. The class where the mistake occurred was Home Economics. I had been assigned to a group consisting of three other girls.

The teacher asked us each to come up with a recipe, bake it, and then share it with the class. The other girls in my group quickly decided on brownies. I enthusiastically agreed as I wanted to show my overall optimistic attitude and agreeableness. The rest of the period was spent selecting the perfect brownie recipe. The very next day, the group convened again and prepared to bake the recipe. Everything went smoothly at first as ingredients were added and stirred together. However, just before we were ready to pour the batter into the pan, one of the girls pulled out a bag filled with what looked like basil.

After a few minutes of listening to the other girls whispers and giggles, I understood that the bag was actually filled with marijuana. Before I knew what was happening, one of the girls quickly dumped the bag’s contents into the brownies and thrust the bowl into my hands. She hissed at me to stir it, as she looked around the classroom in order to make sure no one had seen what we were up to. I looked at the other girls who gave me encouraging smiles, and for the first time in a while, I felt like I belonged.

I started mixing the marijuana into the brownie batter then, feeling excited at being a part of a secret. I did not even consider the possibility that we would get into trouble for it. My mistake grew even bigger the next day when we presented the brownies to the teacher for inspection. I still have no idea how the teacher figured it out so quickly, but within minutes, she was marching all of us down to the principal’s office. The other girls confessed to the possession of the pot and the initial idea of putting pot in the brownies.

As for me, I had to confess to stirring the drug into the brownies. This ultimately made me just as guilty as everyone else. I was suspended from school for two months. The suspension resulted in a near failing grade in all of my classes, and all of my other teachers now believed me to be one of the bad kids. It was not long before I transferred back to my old school and tried to start over after making the biggest mistake of my life. I only realized the depth of my mistake when I was