Approaching Adulthood Today Is Much Harder Essay

, Research Paper

Approaching Adulthood Today Is Much Harder

Than It Was Ten Years Ago

Drugs, sex and family problems are just three of the many issues that, make approaching adulthood today much harder than it was ten years ago.

More than 90% of surveys on drug use say that over 80% of teens between the ages of 13-19 have tried or been offered illegal drugs. Approximately 65% of the teens surveyed admitted to doing drugs, while the rest said they had just been offered them. Drugs are a huge problem in society today and the problem is increasing as you read this essay. I find from talking to my older siblings about their experiences in high school that teenagers today may be under the same kinds of pressures to use marijuana as they were in the past. But now there are also pressures to use stronger drugs, such as a popular drug called ecstasy. Also, in the past few years the level of THC in marijuana has increased significantly and as a result the drug has become much stronger and much more addictive. I find that drug use by teenagers right now is at an all time high and that things need to change.

Sex a common word used on TV, in movies and even on billboards, all showing teenagers that sex is more of a casual thing, without showing its real and not so pleasant sides. Sex is not something that should become a casual and meaningless thing. What teenagers today don?t know is that sex is one of the highest killers in the world. Sex itself is not the killer but the effects of it, such as Aids, HIV and all of the other sexually transmitted diseases can be. As I watch grade 8?s come to our school every year I feel badly for every one of them because the pressures of having sex have sky rocketed in the past few years. When my brother an

d sister attended high school sex was not really an issue. But theses days I would say that having sex is the biggest form of peer pressure involved in high schools. As people come into high school they are told that the ?cool? people do it so you should too. It is not only done for the wrong reasons but kids are having sex without any real knowledge of what they are doing. I hope people gradually realise that sex is not one of those thing you have to do. It is a very important part of our lives and should be thought of as more of a bad thing during your teenage years than a good thing.

The percentage of marriages ending in divorce has had a great increase in the last few years. Do we know why? Not really. Is there any way to change it? Not really. Teenagers with bad family problems go through so much, not only at school but at home as well. People should think long and hard before they get married, to know for sure what they are getting themselves into and, if they were to have children, what they are bringing them into. I have many friends who are going through hard times at home. It not only puts stress on them at home but it brings down their schoolwork and self esteem as well. As I get older and hit that point where I am getting ready to get married, I will think ahead and be sure everything is right, not only for myself and my husband but for those kids I could be having in the future.

In conclusion I have found that growing up right now is one of the hardest things I will ever face. Not only do you have to be strong, you have to believe in yourself and that can be one of the hardest things in the world. Sex, drugs and family problems are all very important subjects and I hope that sooner or later people will start to figure out that something has got to be done.