Thomas Bean: 'I admit I'm lazy and I like drinking, but that's what you're meant to do at 15'

There are stereotypes surrounding teenagers and I suppose most of them are true. I admit that I'm quite lazy and I like drinking and smoking pot. But I don't see anything wrong with this. That's what you're supposed to do when you're 15.

I suppose I'm quite a typical teenager and wouldn't call my lifestyle healthy. I don't eat school food as I can't stand it so I usually just have a piece of chewing gum and a bar of chocolate.

Teenagers obviously like to drink. Normally about once a month I'll have something to drink of whatever is there. A beer or a Guinness. The first time I got drunk I was about 14 and a half. But I'd never drink the night before school. I have tried pot at a party but I've never bought it. I wouldn't touch cigarettes though because they're so addictive.

I don't think I've ever been offered anything stronger but I may have been too drunk to remember - although I wouldn't touch it anyway. I'm against the idea of doing anything stronger than pot and most of my friends are the same.

In terms of whether we're happy, teenagers do get stressed but mostly it's because of exams. That's probably their biggest worry. My 16-year-old sister got really stressed when she did her GCSEs. I actually quite enjoy school and I know a lot of people who do. I go there to learn, I suppose, but it's also to see my friends. When my sister left school, she said she really missed the social side.

Thomas Bean, 15, Kirkoswald, Cumbria