San Diego, CA (PRWEB) October 25, 2011
Made for youth by youth, the I Pledge to Live Naturally High Campaign is taking the country by storm. On Friday, October 28th at Muirlands Middle School, Megan and Cassadee Pope, lead singer of Hey Monday and star of Natural High 5, will Pledge to live Naturally High. Together they will stand, drug-free and proud, in front of thousands of youth to preview Natural High 5 and promote income Naturally High.
The campaign centers around a growing number of teens who have made the choice to pursue their Natural Highs- passions that make them pleased and confident- and reject drugs. The pledge has appeared at local schools, events, and the Southern California Vans Warped Tour shows, everywhere youth went wild for the T-shirts, wristbands, and stickers emblazoned with the message. My original goal for the campaign was to have 1,000 teens pledge to live Naturally High, says Megan Hastings, the 17-year-ancient who generated the thought. And even previous to the site was up and in succession, my goal had already been shattered; today, over 13,000 signatures have been composed on I Pledge to Live Naturally High banners showed at high schools and events, as well as people who have pledged from Natural Highs homepage!
Hastings has been caught up with Natural High?, the organization supporting the campaign, since she was a freshman in high school. She started out writing articles for the student newsletter and, as time permitted, helped with various other projects. Yet her involvement with Natural High? was not always something she wanted her peers to know about. When I was younger I was insecure in publicizing that I lived Naturally High. I felt that I was the only one who rejected drugs, and I was not courageous enough to declare it on my own, Hastings shared. My own experiences as a freshman led to my thought for the Natural High Pledge Campaign. I believe if a teen can see that they are not alone and there is an entire movement of people choosing to live Naturally High, they will pledge to do the same and be strengthened in their choice to live drug free.
Now in her senior year, Hastings has become more confident in herself and the work she is doing with Natural High?. As I’ve developed older, I’ve realized that drug users are by no means the margin of teens; there are just as many teens who live Naturally High too, said Hastings. She now wants to share her perspective with everyone, to spare others the dread that she once felt, and the time that lapsed previous to she was ready to let others know her real stance. I finally told my acquaintances that I am caught up with Natural High? because I knew right acquaintances would respect me for it. Most of my acquaintances thought it was awesome and wanted to get caught up, tooand all of them certainly still accept me, Hastings exclaimed.
Hastings natural highs include soccer, volleyball, acquaintances, family, writing, photography, reading, and even school. Yet, although these keep her busy and free of consequences that come from drugs, Hastings also has a interest for those making the opposite choice. While drug users do not constitute the margin of teens, I have been surprised to see the quantity of people that use drugs casually without realizing how it is changing their lives. Many of the people I know smoke weed and reckon it’s no huge deal, but they don’t even realize their dependence on it. The same goes as far as drinking is concerned; I am continually surprised by the nonchalance that teens have towards binge drinking, even when they are habitually getting atrophied every weekend, Hastings shared. She hopes the I Pledge to Live Naturally High Campaign will impact and encourage this demographic as well, showing them that there is another choice.
At a Drug Awareness Assembly at Rancho Buena Vista High School last May, this hope force have been realized. After guest speakers Chelsie Hill and Aaron Rubin shared their tragic experiences due to drugs and alcohol, the Natural High Club at RBVHS played the Natural High 4? DVD and questioned the entire student body to stand up if they wanted to pledge to live Naturally High. Of the 3000 students, over 80% of them stood up, and feedback composed after the assembly exposed that there was more to the tale; a number of students submitted comments that they felt compelled to stand up that day.
Peer pressure was not a pre-meditated step nor included as part of a strategic approach as the Natural High message was shared during the assembly and through the campaign. Instead, it has unfolded naturally, with teens feeling pressure to make positive choices instead of negative ones. This is precisely the place that most prevention organizations aim to reach. They want to join with kids not only emotionally with dread and scare tactics, but consciously as well, so the effort will go from the heart to the head, and truly affect private responsibility and behavior. Peer pressure is ordinarily seen as a negative phenomenon, says Hastings. But, I reckon without even trying, the I Pledge to Live Naturally High Campaign is by peer pressure positively. The real shared norm ruins that there are plenty of teens choosing to live Naturally High. Thats the message I want all teens to see: that everyone has a Natural High, and those who live Naturally High are not alone. With this campaign, there is now a place to proclaim that.
To gather more and see the thousands of pledges, visit http://www.naturalhigh.org/pledge. For additional information please contact Sasha Clifton at 858-551-7006 or sasha(at)naturalhigh(dot)org.
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