The Other Wes Moore Peer Influence

Peer influence can make you choose between popularity or reasoning. In the story, The Other Wes Moore, Wes(author) and Wes(interview) may have the same names but not the same lives. Different friends and influences paved their lives in two different ways. One of the Wes's ended up in prison and the other was very successful in school. Peer influence has had the biggest impact on how successful an individual is; This can be seen through “The Other Wes Moore” through examples of good friends and environments that lead someone down the right path. First, peer influence makes you make decisions you may not believe in. Social influence is in which a person changes their behavior to be more in line with the behavior of their friends, and social selection.” (Titkov 2). In the story, The Other Wes Moore,

His friends were encouraging him to do things that Wes knows are bad. His friends were pressuring Wes to drink and smoke, even though he knew that it was a bad decision and he would never do it again. This shows peer influence through Wes and his friends. Next, not all friends are bad influences on Wes. “Peer relationships have the potential to promote as well as protect against engagement in dangerous risky behavior.”This can be demonstrated in The Other Wes Moore when Wes(author) was sent to military school because of his actions and grades. Throughout his time at military school, he learned how to respect people and also learned true leadership. After military school, he earned scholarships and academic awards. Captain Ty Hill taught him many life lessons that he can take throughout his life. He had a great influence on Wes’s life. Finally, Mary, Wes’s mother, sets rules in the house that she breaks. “Recreating the influence she swore she would never impose on children of her own.” In the story the other Wes Moore, Wes’s mother kept telling Wes that he needs to stay out of drugs and the