What does it mean to be 13 in 2020? When I hear this question, two things come to mind. Finding out who you are and peer pressure. These are tough to control with strict parents. From my experience, this is what defined most of my time as being a 13-year-old girl. So, in this essay, I want to talk about 2 experiences I had with peer pressure and finding myself. 

Peer pressure is a very difficult thing to deal with. My biggest interaction with peer pressure came from technology. When you are constantly surrounded by technology, it’s hard not to feel pressured to be involved in it. I remember one day when I was in 6th grade, I went to a sleepover with a few of my friends. We were all sitting in my friend’s bedroom, just talking and having fun. Then, everyone was taking pictures and texting on their phones. At that moment, I felt left out. I felt a sting of pain in my stomach as I watched my friends laugh at a funny post they saw on Pinterest. Now, I’m not saying that all kids at any age should have phones but, this is the age of technology. As kids get older, technology is used more and more, I even use my phone for school. I just feel like parents, in general, don’t understand how much technology affects kid’s and teen’s lives, whether it’s academically or socially. My generation is surrounded by an abundance of technology. Technology has its good times and bad times but, it is something that has defined most of my generation. My generation is even sometimes referred to as the generation of technology. Being surrounded by social media and smartphones at that party made me feel pressured to have one. 

The second most important thing about being 13 is finding yourself. Whether it’s through social media or just finding something that I love. For example, while I was 13, I decided to start

ballet. Now, I know 13 is kind of late to start but, this one of the advantages of turning 13. My mom started dancing when she was 13 and my uncle started painting when he was 13. I also started taking better care of myself when I turned 13. Before, I would leave out to go somewhere with messed up hair and clothes as if a were a wild animal. Once, my mom and I were getting dressed to go visit my grandmother. When I walked into my mom’s room, I could see the confusion on her face. Then, she just started laughing. I don’t mean normal laughing, she was laughing so hard she was out of breath and clutching her stomach. Now normally, I’d be hurt or upset but, I couldn’t really blame her. I just hopped out of bed and put my clothes on, that’s it. I remember looking at myself in the mirror and seeing something mixed between a chimpanzee and a sloth. Sounds pretty bad right? Thankfully since that incident, I now, I actually put effort into how I look. Iḿ trying different styles and seeing what works for me. 

Overall, being 13 in 2020 means connecting with your friends and family through technology, while also having to deal with peer pressure. It’s about finding what you love and discovering your style. I only get 365 days to be 13. So, like my parents always told me, I will enjoy being a kid for as long as I can.