When I was in seventh grade, I encountered peer pressure suddenly and with very little warning. It all started when I spent one Friday night at a new classmate’s house. Jeff’s dad and my dad had been friends in school, so my parents thought everything would be fine with my spending time at their house. They probably would have been right, too, if we had actually stayed in the house. Instead, we decided to be adventurous and sleep in the camper in the back yard. Throw in Jeff’s neighbor Pat and a pack of cigarettes, and I was facing more than I had bargained for. I wanted to fit in, so I joined them in smoking a few that night.

I suppose I thought...

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