Who Is Megan Meier's Identity In High School?

Teenagers struggle with maintaining their own identity in high school. The truth is many teens are forced or try to be a different person. For example peer pressure and bullying can be some of the causes of identity change in high school. In “Megan Meier’s story”, a true story about a thirteen year old girl who gets cyber bullied on Myspace, Megan’s identity changes because she believes the offensive bulletins that were posted about her. When Megan is called “fat” and a “slut” she reaches her boiling point where she starts to doubt who she really is. “The cyber exchange devastated Megan, who was unable to understand how and why her friendship unraveled. The stress and frustration was too much for Megan, who had a history of depression.” (paragraph #7 in “Megan Meier’s story”) Because of these comments about Megan her identity changed, she committed suicide. Before this happened Megan was happy and liked her life “But her family said she looked forward to her 14th birthday and having her braces
removed.” (paragraph #1 in “Megan Meier’s story”). After Megan sees these posts about her she transforms mentally, she no longer has the same identity. In the movie “cyberbully”, a similar story to “Megan Meier’s story”, Taylor Hillridge is a victim of cyber bullying, she is targeted by her own friend on a social website.
When Taylor is called names on this site it reaches school where she hears insults every day. Soon she stops going to school and is crying all the time, at one point she starts taking drugs. “Tormented and afraid to face her peers at school, Taylor is pushed to an extreme breaking point.” (paragraph #1 in “cyberbully”) Taylor goes from having many friends and always joyous to this extreme breaking point. Taylor goes through “harrowing ordeal” her mother says, this is where the identity change
occurs. Another way for teens to have a change in identity is peer pressure. Some want to be with the popular kids in order to do so they will change whatever they need for this to happen. In the story “Peer Pressure” a teenage boy smokes just so he can have friends even though normally he wouldn’t have done this. “David knew that if he thought about it he would never do it, so he decided not to think. He put the cigarette in his mouth and he felt cool doing it. He wanted to be cool like his friends. He knew he had to, to be with them. But he felt something inside him slipping away and he tried not to think about it. He put the cigarette into the flame that Parker was holding.” (paragraph #35 in “Peer Pressure”). By smoking that cigarette proves David is willing to do anything to be excepted. There is only one way you can be yourself in high school and that is being friends with the right people. Don’t be friends with strangers you meet on the internet. Don’t be friends with people you know are getting involved with the wrong things. “…find a social group that goes along with your desires and to develop a trusting bond with them.” (paragraph #1 in “Fitting In”). All these stories that have teens questioning their identity start with who they are friends with, the answer is simple once you have the right social group your identity is set. “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Don’t let the high school world change your identity, stick with your real friends and everything will work out fine.