I was raised by a single, working mom who was always there for me.

She did the best she could. But when it came to learning about being a man, I looked to my friends. When they started drinking then smoking, I joined in. I knew my mom would hate it. But I also wanted my friends to like me.

What I didn't think about was that these guys were just like me. We were all too young to understand what we were doing. We didn’t really know the dangers of drinking so much. It just seemed like fun. And for me, it was a lot of fun.

But some of the guys didn’t have a good home like I did. Some had abusive parents, broken homes, no money or even no family at all. They needed an escape. And their drinking turned into weekends spent drunk.

My friends meant the world to me. But I knew this wasn’t my future. I was scared they would hate me if I stopped drinking with them. Peer pressure is the worst thing in the world. I used to fake drinking just to fit in.

I could see the way their lives were going. And I wanted a better one. I slowly spent less time with them. I kind of faded out of their circle rather than cutting ties. I still see them sometimes. There are no hard feelings but I am worlds apart from them now.

It is easy to get caught in a bad crowd and it can be hard to break away. But remember that your friends can change. Look for ones who will support you and make good choices.

Have you made bad decisions even though you were raised in a loving home?

This story was written by Tune Me community member.