Former PEERS Project Student Heads to Purdue University

Graduate Shares Her Experience in The PEERS Project

peers teen leaderWritten by Shea Cattelier

After being a part of The PEERS Project the past three years I have learned a lot about myself and the limits I have chosen to set for myself.  And, as I move toward college, and the new experiences that await, I will carry the same set of values I have had for myself throughout high school. The PEERS Project has taught me the value of goal setting and the amount of courage it takes to achieve those goals.  As college approaches I am nervous about the academic rigor and whether my past 13 years of education have prepared me enough for the untethering that is college. However, I know deep down that I am the same driven young woman who joined PEERS because of its great values. Because of that, I will continue to thrive in the world around me without worrying about succumbing to peer pressure as I go to Purdue University.

Y.O.L.O.
yolo, peersproject, goals, media, peer pressure
You Only Live Once

Have you ever heard of the term or saying, “YOLO”? YOLO means, “You Only Live Once.” Kind of dumb isn’t it? I agree. Well people first started hearing YOLO when Drake, a hip hop artist, first said it in his hit song, The Motto in late 2012. When people, such as teens first heard it, it became very catchy. It was also being played a lot on the radio. Which is how the media gets your attention by repeating those catchy jingles.  It was more directed towards teens. Teens began to use YOLO as an excuse for everything. For example, a teen could hit a car in a parking lot and think it would be okay. Then that’s when they yell the term, YOLO. Basically YOLO means do everything to the extreme because you might not be alive to do it tomorrow. That term was taken  way  out of control. The term also figured out its way to be apart of every sentence in someway. YOLO was a daily and frequently used word once it was first heard in Drake’s song, “The Motto”. The term YOLO was then featured on clothing, hats, and even phone cases. This was all in the hands of teens who thought it was so cool and began to come more popular.

If you do use the motto YOLO make sure that you are truly ceasing the moment through making good choices and not living once to just choose destructive behavior. A bad choice could not only affect your life forever but could also hurt someone else…even death.

Guest blog by: Jalen, 17 years