Struggling with classmates

At my school, the only way to be cool or somewhat respected is to drink a lot at parties and to basically be sexually-oriented in your outlook on dating and girls. Just today some people were really pushing me to get a hook-up with some girl. When I tell someone I dont want to do that kind of thing they say "what are you, gay"? Im kind of afraid to tell people I want to be a Christian because I know Im going to lose a lot. There are basically no christians at my school, as far as I can tell, because everyone talks about the same immoral things, such as sex, pornography, drugs, and getting drunk. Its also really tempting to try various kinds of drugs, like pot and other medicines, because its offered all the time. Is it a sin to take drugs in limited amounts? And what about things like breathing helium out of balloons? Is that sinful?
Can you give your advice on how to deal with this stuff and still be accepted, and what do you have to say about things like drinking?

It gets worse in college. I've got absolutely nothing to do on the weekends because I chose not to drink. Don't do drugs though. Even a small amount can get you hooked. There's nothing wrong with sucking helium out of a balloon, it's not a drug, it just makes your voice funny.

There's nothing wrong with sucking helium out of a balloon, it's not a drug, it just makes your voice funny.

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Ive heard that sucking in helium will do the same thing to your brain as whiffing glue or the laughing gas from a whipped cream container.

Abba said:

Ive heard that sucking in helium will do the same thing to your brain as whiffing glue or the laughing gas from a whipped cream container.

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Naw, it's ok. A small percentage of the atmosphere is helium, you need it to survive. I just wouldn't suck helium non-stop or your voice might stay high pitched

Naw, it's ok. A small percentage of the atmosphere is helium, you need it to survive. I just wouldn't suck helium non-stop or your voice might stay high pitched

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Awesome then!

Abba said:

Awesome then!

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You might wanna double check that though, i'm not positive.

Alright, I take that back. I did a quick google search: http://www.balloonartists.com.au/helium.htm. Don't suck helium.

i had this same type of dillema that started in high school...trust me; you're not the only one in your school that thinks this. don't be afraid to be who you are and let others know that. then you'll find out who your true friends are, and you might even meet some pretty good friends that you wouldn't have otherwise.

Just say No!

I wonder what ever happend to that campain

I've actually tried that thing that you said with the whipped cream container and it was really dumb. All i got from it was a head ache..lol. My advice to you Charlie is to not get involved with any drugs because who knows where you could end up? I think drinking is ok but drugs can certainly lead you in the wrong direction. Peer pressure is hard but i will be praying for you

DreamTheater said:

Alright, I take that back. I did a quick google search: http://www.balloonartists.com.au/helium.htm. Don't suck helium.

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yep inhalling anything is not smart . specaily don't do can air that stuff is heaver then air and will stay in your lungs

Aaron-Aggie said:

Just say No!

I wonder what ever happend to that campain

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Died with Reagan.

tip toeing in for a second...

These pressures are very hard to deal with.. I know first hand! I had many friends doing all kinds of horrible things and it was not easy to avoid doing them too. You have to say focused and informed to combat these things!

helium from a balloon is fine.. it's not a drug, and it won't hurt you unless you suck down a dozen at one... but I highly doubt that helium is in the balloons that you are talking about.. your friends who do drugs are most likely doing "whip-its". It's the gas N2O injected into a balloon and then sucked out.. here's a page to read the damage it can do to your body http://www.resort.com/~banshee/Info/N2O/nitrous.dangers.html

If you didn't buy the helium balloon (which floats the the celing) yourself, don't suck out of it.. if someone tries to tell you it's helium (and it doesn't float) they are confusted.. DON"T DO IT!

back on track now...

Here are some reasons to
1) NOT do drugs, look at porno, have sexual relations.
2) tell people your a Christian.

1) Romans 6:12-13 tells us not to sin with our body. Drugs do more than get someone high, they kill cells, help us to lose our inhibitions and lead to addictions and break-down of family structures. (think of how you would feel if you came home and saw your mom on the couch smoking pot ... she would feel the same, or worse, about you). Porn/pre-marital sex ect.. is also sinning with your body (and mind). I have more scripture for you (and I'm sure your fellow Catholics have quotes from CCC) if that is in question for you.
If none of this helps, when in doubt with any situation.. check your bible, ask your priest and most of all pray to God... if you can (with good judgement that doesn't go against the bible) believe that it could glorify God and not bring you guilt then you can usually do it.. but w/ the case of drugs or sex or anything related I don't see that possible.
2). Telling people your Christian and being a good strong moral person through all the adversity might show them that Christian's do strive to be like Christ. They can resist temptation! You might be able to lead someone else to know Christ that might never have know with out seeing your lifestyle and asking you questions about why. God put us on this earth and told us of the great reward we have waiting (heaven) but he never said getting there was going to be easy. He put his own son Jesus through trials, temptation, beatings and a horrific death... we should think of him for stregnth when we are fighting our own adversities with peers.

I wrote this because I remember it so well and I wish I had someone to tell me these things then... I pray that they help you!

God Bless,
Carina

Holy God, Saint Aloysius, at age 16, gave up his inherited right to be a prince so that he could grow in sanctity through the Jesuit discipline. He died young, at age 23, because he contracted a disease from the sick people he had helped. Now he is the patron saint of youth. I ask him to intercede for the youth in my family, my parish community, and my neighborhood. O Lord, excite their faith, and help them discover You are their friend. Teach our churches how to draw them in and meet their spiritual needs. Bring new life to our parishes by getting the youth involv
ed in contributing their fresh ideas. Saint Aloysius, pray for us. Amen

Sweet Savior, Saint John Bosco had a powerful love and tender heart for youth. I lift up to You the children and teenagers in my life. Protect them; lead them away from the temptations of the world and hold them tight in Your arms. When Saint John was a boy, he performed circus tricks to draw in the neighborhood children, and then he shared the homily he'd heard at Mass. Help the youth in my family and church become powerful evangelists to their peers. Bless those who have been gifted with a vocation to the priesthood or religious life, and help them say yes to this call. Saint John Bosco, pray for us. Amen.

I don't want to be repetitive or anything... and everyone is giving you great advice. I just want to add to it. I understand what you are going through because I faced it in high school too (and now in college). I always wanted to fit in (and I still have this problem at times)... just to be liked by people and to have friends. My friends in high school drank a lot (and still do) and do a lot of other terrible things as well. I had no real Christian friends. My closest friends went to catechism with me and church on Sundays but never seemed to take it seriously. So I didn't either, I would go drinking with them and never thought much about it. Everyone was like that... or at least thats what I thought. I made some mistakes in high school, with the drinking and everything... and I still regret it. I still wish I would have looked for another Christian student, or just kept to myself, instead of being influenced by wanting to be popular. Anyway, sorry to go on so much, but just try to keep on the right path. You obviously have a good head on your shoulders to be so concerned with this now. It will make you stronger everyday and it is a great part of who you are.
There will be other students who will treat you differently when they find out you are a Christian, but remember that God is with you always. There are always hard times but He will get you through. I will pray for you, that everything works out well. And I hope you meet another strong Christian who you can relate to. God Bless!

I've actually tried that thing that you said with the whipped cream container and it was really dumb. All i got from it was a head ache..lol. My advice to you Charlie is to not get involved with any drugs because who knows where you could end up? I think drinking is ok but drugs can certainly lead you in the wrong direction. Peer pressure is hard but i will be praying for you

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Certain kinds of whipped cream containers have that gas. If it does, you will definitely know if you inhale it (im not trying to condone it!).

Also one of the worst things is that people just assume I do it. Like yesterday or the day before I had several people come up to me and wisper "got any cigs?" just because I had one of my hands in my pocket.

"Thank you, but no thank you" and smile while you're saying it. It confuses them. Show your happiness (I know, it's though as a teenager, I used to sometimes hide under the schoolstairs). Surround yourself with Christian material and find Christian friends (either at school, or through the net). That way you will have a back up support against peer pressure. When you get home, put on some Christian music to help you 'slide out' of the defense mechanism you have had to wear out school. And take a cd or mp3 player with you with some christian songs on it. It's easier to resist temptation when you have "I believe in you Lord Jesus, I adore your Holy Name" blasting in your ears then when you have "Gonna getcha, gonna do ya good and fine" sounding through the earphones.
Allow your joy in your Faith to shine through. Will you be isolated? Yes and no. You certainly won't belong to the cool group. But take it from me... the 'rejects table' really isn't so bad. There are friendships formed there by people who accept eachother for what they are: flawed and trying. And those friendships last much, much longer than a friendship that might waver because your parents are fired from their jobs and all of a sudden you can't go to the movies anymore or wear the right brand of jeans.
Make this your 'feast that you prepare before the Lord' and become active in organisations that have your set of values, even if they're not yet present in your highschool.

It's rough. I dealt with it in school for awhile, and dealt with it in CCD. It doesn't work for everyone, but for me it did. I'd rather be weird and unaccepted than turn into somebody acting like them. I'd rather have no one to talk to, no one to hang out with, no one to be friends with, than hang out with people who acted like that.
And that's how it ended up. Locally, I have no friends at all, I don't hang out with anyone. My best friend is 3 1/2 hours away and I see her a few times a year. But it makes me appreciate her so much more because she IS someone I want to hang out with. When I'm around her, I know the last thing I have to worry about is her influencing me in the wrong way.

And the top thing you should do is prayer, because prayer is THE most powerful weapon! I'll pray for you too. =)

I agree with all before said (a little iffy on the helium, though )

I have to add, my friend Abba, that High School is a trial, just like any public place where you are likely to find evil things. It's everywhere, Abba.

Instead of getting discouraged, remember that this is the time that God wills to make the greatest saints; when the Church is underfire, and her beliefs ridiculed and her faithful children mocked.

Once I was at a football game and I watched the cheerleaders doing their moves. There was no lust in my glance or in my heart. However, a person from my school sitting near me noticed this and basically insinuated that he could "hook me up" with one of them.

I pretended not to hear him, and then he just gave up.

I'll tell you this, Abba..they way of the Lord is the way of PERFECT freedom. When you walk in his grace unto holiness, you are able to do what your will desires, in union with God - yes, there are battles and many temptations, but the more you overcome with the help of God, the more free you are. The more you give yourself away to him, the more you find yourself.

In contrast, millions are quite literally enslaved; spiritually, emotionally, even physically. They dissipate themselves in a swirling endlessness of pretended and passing pleasures, hoping it will numb the pain of an interior remorse, hoping that somehow the sweet persistance of their interior guest will somehow be drowned out by the constant noise and movement.

I by no means have attained this freedom, but I hope by the grace of God to be one of his holy ones - even though yet I will always be his little sinner.

An aside I'd like to mention: those who are chaste are often thought of as homosexual. What a foolish notion! What a day and age we live in when homosexuality is not only allowed, but sometimes encouraged? Under that reasoning, many of the widowed, the children, the infants...are all gay, because they have not reached the same level of heterosexual promiscuity. With meekness and with forgiveness, pray for them, Charlie.

As St. Peter said, by your good works you will shut the mouths of those who would accuse you. By your patience and perseverance you store up for yourself an eternal crown which will never fade away. At the Lord's right hand are pleasures forevermore - he himself is our inheritance and our everlasting solace.