TED TALK

TOPIC: PEER PRESSURE

Good morning /afternoon everyone. I’m Mimian from 10GAC. It’s my honor to have a chance
to stand here today.

Honestly, it’s my very first time doing it, so I have to spend a few days choosing a topic that
might attract you guys. I did a lot of research on the Internet, listened to Ted Talk videos on
Youtube and I can’t count how many times I asked my friend: "How can you choose the topic
so fast, can you give me a topic and wait for me, please?” When my friends started their work, I
am left behind and still pondering my options. Then, I began to have an invisible worry about
myself. I was also quite envious of other friends for fear of being inferior to everyone. At that
moment, I suddenly realized that this is not the first time I have felt that, I felt it a thousand
times- the feeling of peer pressure. Without any hesitation, I wanted to choose this topic for
today's speech.

First of all, I would like to ask you a question, you don’t have to answer it in public, just keep
it in your mind so I hope that you will be honest with yourself. Have you ever been influenced
by the success of your friends, by people of the same social group (same age, same class for
instance), and changed your attitudes, values, or behaviors to conform to the group's norms? I
have been, even many times and I think I’m not the only one, right? I was so afraid of peer
pressure because it sounds a bit negative for my psychology and mental health. But in our
generation, it's hard to avoid peer pressure. As social networks grow, we always see many
examples of “the next-door kid” or “Con nhà người ta” in Vietnamese, a familiar phrase to
everyone here... Young people easily fall into the syndrome of fear of missing out because Gen
Z is an experience-loving generation, afraid of being inferior to their friends because of not
being able to experience something.

I want to share this story with everyone, especially those who have been and are under the
effects of peer pressure. Luckier than many others, since childhood, I have been studying at a
well-known international school in Saigon. It is easy to understand that almost the students at
that school came from affluent families and under the expectations of their families, they had
high academic performances, received a lot of awards, their English skills were amazing since
grade 2, and they were exactly “the next-door kid” that we often heard about. It’s a bit painful
and ashamed but I had to say that they were on the next level from me -the girl with nothing
special, from appearance to academic performance. When I was aware that everyone around me
was better than me in every aspect, it made me extremely pressured. I was afraid of
disappointing my parents because I was inferior to other friends and I was afraid of the looks
my friends will give me. This keeps up, I never give my own opinions even though I disagree
because I thought others’ answers must be correct, I didn’t dare to be friends with them, their
success was also my fear because I thought the more successful they are, the bigger the gap
between us. All of this pressure lead me to a mental illness. You know what, while everyone
was comforting me to overcome this pressure, my best friend since I was 3 had shouted to me:
“Stay true to yourself. An original is worth more than a copy. Define who you are.” It was a
stepping stone that awakened me!
My life changed after that day. Every day, I had to fight with myself to change my
mindset. And after all, I find out that when I know how to appreciate myself, peer pressure is
not a big problem. I can manage my behavior, feel happy in life, and less depending on the
opinions of strangers if I put my attention on what is good for my physical and mental health. I
trust my own feelings and realize that sometimes, giving an excuse is good. Without needing to
apologize or provide an explanation, it ought to be OK to answer "no." I know my limit, my
personal boundaries and admit my levels, position so that I don't persecute myself as a result of
peer pressure. I set an attainable goal for myself so I may have a higher opportunity to achieve
success, don’t make myself feel disappointed when I can’t catch up with others in an impossible
goal. All of these things have shaped me into the person I am today, a confident girl who dares
to share her opinions and defines her own values.

To conclude, I have to admit that no one is immune to peer pressure. However, just be true to
who you are and proud of who you’re becoming. Instead of having bad effects because of it,
changing the pressure became motivation because I believe that “Pressure will make a
diamond”

This is the end of my Ted Talk today. Thank you for listening!