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Beat It -- Invitation to Write #59



For Writers:

When was Michael Jackson’s Thriller released? Late 1982. When did my mom buy me a Michael Jackson-style jacket? That didn’t happen until late 1984, when it was on sale for 70% off.

Actually, I loved the jacket when she brought it home from the mall. All black, it was a bit more “toned down” than some of the clothes he wore at the time. It still had all the pockets and zippers, and it still had the puffy v-shaped shoulders, but I thought it looked cool.

When I wore it to grade school, however, I soon discovered it wasn’t cool. Jackets made out of parachute pants material might have worked in 1982, but they didn’t work in 1984. This was the conclusion of most of my sixth grade classmates, and so I quickly threw the jacket to the back of my closet. Going to school with goose bumps was better than going to school with my peers singing “Beat It” in my direction.

Think of a time when you experienced peer pressure. How did you handle it? In what ways do you still experience peer pressure in adult life?

"Hermits have no peer pressure." -- Steven Wright

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