Article November 6, 1995 Issue

FOR TEENAGERS

Staying true to who you really are

Barbara Beattie Wyly

When I was in high school, I had a group of girlfriends whom I'd been close to since grade school. We shared everything with each other. I didn't ever want to give them up, even when things started to change. My friends started drinking and behaving in ways that made me uncomfortable. I thought at first that I could handle it by just hanging out with the crowd and pretending to enjoy myself.

There was a large wooded park a few miles from our homes where my friends and I would go on weekend nights after dark. We would meet some other teenagers there and have a party by the light of pickup truck head beams. They chose this place to meet because there were no parents around. Lots of drinking and other inappropriate activities would go on.

I had grown up loving and trusting in the teachings of the Bible. The Ten Commandments held great relevance for me. And so did the teachings of Christ Jesus. They were my guide in discerning right from wrong. I strove to live life by the lessons taught in the Bible, and I considered myself to be a moral person. After all, I did not drink or smoke; and I never considered using drugs, since becoming a slave to these things meant, to me, serving a master other than God. I kept telling myself that since I was not actually doing anything immoral, it was all right for me to be with people who were. Then, why wasn't I having any fun with these friends? It was hard to admit it, but I knew in my heart the reason why.

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