At age twelve, and in the sixth grade, I was very influenced by my peers. One such example is the whole Beanie Baby craze. I owned millions, even though I was definitely not very partial to them, but merely because my female contemporaries did as well. But this is not about Beanie Babies. This is a story of how I ditched my friends to win a contest, and what was more important, to be included by the popular girls. Yes, these were the very same girls who owned over hundreds of Beanie Babies.

It was time for yet another fundraiser for Christmas wrapping-paper, but this time something was different. The monotonous task of selling that dully colored paper had been enhanced by a grand prize - a trip to Planet Hollywood and FAO Schwartz, the legendary toy store, in San Francisco. The rules for winning this luxurious prize...