My essay about drug abuse and social norms

This is an essay that I wrote for school today. I'm actually pretty darn pleased with my communication skills, considering that it only took me a couple minuets. I was so pleased, that I thought that I should share it with you guys! =)
I hope that you find this fascinating (Eehheh. Pardon my Spockish speech patterns. I've been on a TOS (Star Trek The Original Series) kick lately... XD) and/or informative! =^^=

People always face many obstacles and challenges, and people in their teenage stage are most certainly no exception. We are constantly battling and contradicting ourselves as we go through many stressful changes to become adults. This obstacle comes to mind:

Conformity and adaptation to social norms
As social beings, we must change and adapt to fit in, and be accepted in a social group. However, many of us don’t want to change or even fit in. We are afraid to lose ourselves in the public’s identity and instead strive to create our own identities. This is usually a good thing, as creative and pro-active people are necessary for change. However, it is only a good thing when taken into a healthy moderation. Those who stand out too much will have to deal with hardships, accusations, and the public’s disapproval. Some people just aren’t strong enough or ready to deal with this aspect, and can develop a very strong rebel attitude (which is really beneficial to no one) and sometimes even self-loathing.

On the other hand, others will actively try to blend in with the social norms of their peers. Such people find it comforting to be in a group where no one stands out, and rules are already laid out for them. While this is a good survival technique, the unfortunate aspect is that there is no individuality and people in a peer group will actively try and become more like those around them even if their peers are unhealthy.
Take the abuse of drugs for an example. If drug abuse is the social norm for some one's peer group, one can bet that this person will at least experiment in drug use, if not become fully addicted.

Homer has created a very frank view of addiction and the abuse of consumables with his story of the Lotus Eaters, who were people addicted to eating Lotus blooms to the point of forgetting everything around them. When the story’s protagonist, Odysseus, and his men encounter these people, the people come up and offer some Lotus blooms. Odysseus is wary and instructs his men to not take them, but a few disobey and eat them anyway. These people very quickly join the others and ‘zone out’, forgetting their mission and those around them to just eat the blooms. It is my assumption that drug abuse must have been prevalent even in those days, and was a reference in Homer’s story. Whether or not this assumption is correct doesn’t really matter to us. The message is still clear. No matter what our peers pressure us to do, always trust in one’s own logic and go with the healthiest option.