Ebonie Rivera

Oral History of Joshua Santiago

Joshua Santiago is a 20 year-old man. He is currently going to school for his i.e. He was born and raised in New York, Manhattan aka Harlem. He is Puerto Rican. Comes from a big family. We sat one day on a Friday and talked about peer pressure. While the interview was going you can hear music & the room was dark.

Kids think they’re little PARENTS. THEY ALWAYS THINK THEY know MORE THAN THEIR PARENTS. SO THEY PRESsURE YOU and NAG IN YOUR EAR SO WHEN YOU GET FED UP YOU ACTUAlLY DO [what they want you to do].

They see other people that they’re surrounded by. they see something that’s wrong and they think its right for them to do it. Like for me in example I was quiet growing up and always to myself. so I use to see older people in the park and they would smoke weed and I thought it was cool so ii took it upon myself and did it on my own just to see how it was.

I’m very humble/ quiet. I stay to my to myself and very respectful. I don’t like to be f***ed with and I don’t like to be tolerated nothing from nobody. Sex, money, drugs ,fights and all that gangster s**t influenced me while I was growing up.

It’s not cool to pressure someone to do something they don’t want to do . The do it Because that’s your reputation. You know what im saying and also just to be down. [Just to be gangster]

YOUR FRIENDS JUST WANT YOU TO BE WITH THEM IN ANYTHING. THEY SAY " IF YOUR MY REAL FRIEND you WILL DO THIS WITH OR FOR ME". SO YOU WANT TO BE THERE FRIEND AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY TELL YOU and YOU DO WHAT EVER IT IS THAT THEY TELL YOU TO DO.

Well to me it’s like bullying somebody to do something to do something on with force and action.