Proving one's self

When people are still young they tend to want to standout in the crowd or at least fit in. They also want to prove the others that they are more mature than they look so they can earn respect. They also prove to others their bravery and endurance to earn respect. Respect from others and from elders are very important to a teenager. With respect they gain confidence and also feel accepted. I myself have done so before and not just once but many times. However some of them happen subconsciously since it felt natural to do so. The one I can remember the most clearly was when a group of my friends and I wee playing around in my compound. We ran up to the club house roof (2 floors high) and we played mini golf. Soon we got bored of that and tried to find something else to do up there, one of my friends went over to the edge and stayed there for a couple of minutes. Then he came back and said he had an idea. We were all so excited to hear what he was about to say but once he said it everyone grew silent. "Why don't we try to jump down this roof" he said. After a few minutes of thinking 3 of my friend moved to the railing looked down. Then the rest of us crowded behind them and watched them drop down on to the grass below. They seemed to have not been hurt at all! So then the rest followed one by one they dropped down as I watched from a safe distance. I was left alone on top of the roof with 6 of my friends down below. They cheered me on but i didn't seem to help me at all, they soon decided that i wasn't going to do and told me to get down and we would go to another place. Once I heard that I thought to myself, I must jump down or else they will not look at me as part of the group. So there I go I jumped off and landed on the ground safely after a roll. My friends smiled at me and offered me a hand to get up. Later on in the day I asked them what they would have thought of me if I didn't jump. Their answer surprised me but make me smile. They said that they would have understood and it wouldn't have mattered.