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Ms. Ulreich:
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Hi, Doctor Balis.
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Dr. Balis:
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Hello, Nicole.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Guess what?
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Dr. Balis:
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What?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I've met the sweetest guy in the world. Of course he isn't as cute as Leonardo DiCaprio, but who could be?
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Dr. Balis:
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Hmm.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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He is the best actor in the world!
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Dr. Balis:
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I've seen some of his movies.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Some? I've seen all of his movies.
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Dr. Balis:
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Good. What about this guy you've met?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Oh, yeah. He's this great guy named Shawn. He is so nice; he doesn't do drugs or anything like that.
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Dr. Balis:
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That's good.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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He's kind of a goody-goody, though.
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Dr. Balis:
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Is that a bad thing?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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It used to be. But now it can be cool.
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Dr. Balis:
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Where did you meet him?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Well, I was eating lunch in the cafeteria, and he came over and sat by me. We started talking and found out that we both liked the same movies, and the same music, and the same writers. Then he asked me out on a date. We went to the movies.
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Dr. Balis:
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Sounds nice.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I think I'm in love.
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Dr. Balis:
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In love?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I know I seem too young to be in love, but I honestly think I'm in love. He's perfect for me.
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Dr. Balis:
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Well, I'm glad you've found...
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I know. I'm so happy.
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Dr. Balis:
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Good.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I guess you want to know about Angie.
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Dr. Balis:
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How is she?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Well, she's okay, I guess. Her grandmother said that I can't see her again until I get my act together. She must think I'm a bad influence on her--I get Angie to do drugs.
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Dr. Balis:
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Are you still doing drugs?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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No, I've quit.
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Dr. Balis:
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That's very good.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I know. But apparently Angie's grandmother thinks I hand Angie some drugs and say: "Look what I've got." She knows that I've quit because my mom talked to her.
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Dr. Balis:
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Does your mother think that you still do drugs?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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No. My mom knows better. Tom, on the other hand...
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Dr. Balis:
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Your stepfather?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Yeah. Apparently he thinks that I don't really want to date a great guy like Shawn.
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Dr. Balis:
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Have you told Tom how you feel about Shawn?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I've tried, but he said that since I did drugs once, I'll do them again.
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Dr. Balis:
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Hmm. How are the two related? What do your feelings for Shawn have to do with taking drugs?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Tom knows that I will never do drugs again. I've promised him and my mother several million times that I will not do them again. How many times can a person beg for someone to believe them and not look like a fool?
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Dr. Balis:
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Maybe you should try talking to your parents one on one.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Can't you talk to them for me?
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Dr. Balis:
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No. You have to settle this issue on your own. I can help you develop a strategy for talking to your parents, but the actual talking you'll have to do yourself.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Why? You would do so much better than me.
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Dr. Balis:
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Getting your parents to trust you is something you have to do--no one else can talk them into trusting you.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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What can I do to make them trust me?
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Dr. Balis:
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Trust is something you earn. You show people that they can trust you by being worthy of that trust. You can come home before curfew, or clean up without having to be asked, or babysit for families in your neighborhood, for example.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Before curfew? You've got to be kidding!
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Dr. Balis:
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Why?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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My curfew is eleven-thirty, and good parties are never over until three in the morning.
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Dr. Balis:
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Well, you have to make some hard decisions. You can either party all night, or you can try to get your parents to respect and trust you.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I guess.
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Dr. Balis:
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How's school?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Fine. I got my report card last week.
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Dr. Balis:
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How did you do?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I got three A's, two B's, a C, and an F.
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Dr. Balis:
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What subjects were you taking?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Well, A's were for Drama, Choir, and English.
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Dr. Balis:
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What about the other grades?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I got B's in Algebra II and History. And I got a C in Chemistry.
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Dr. Balis:
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And the F?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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P.E.
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Dr. Balis:
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Physical Education?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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They wanted me to write a summary of an article on volleyball. I got an article off the Internet, and they said it didn't count.
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Dr. Balis:
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You have to write reports for P.E.?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Yeah. Isn't it stupid? It's something about blending in English with all the other classes. But we don't do it in any other class.
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Dr. Balis:
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I see. I have to admit that I didn't do all that well in P.E. myself. And other than grades, how is school?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Well, I made a superior on my solo for Choir. Next week, we'll be going to Chicago to perform at a competition.
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Dr. Balis:
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Sounds like fun.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Yeah. I'm supposed to room with these two girls from Choir. I always thought they were snobs, but they turned out to be pretty nice.
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Dr. Balis:
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People can fool you.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Well, Amber and Janna--the girls I'm rooming with--invited me to go shopping with them for clothes for the trip.
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Dr. Balis:
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I see.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Oh, something else major is going on at school.
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Dr. Balis:
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What is it?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I'm running for Second Vice President of next year's Junior Class.
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Dr. Balis:
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That's great. How did you decide to get involved in school politics?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Amber, Janna, and Shawn. They said that they were running, too. Amber is running for First Vice President, Janna is running for Treasurer, and Shawn is running for President. If we win, we'll be all together.
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Dr. Balis:
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Hmm.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Yeah. But I doubt that I'll win. I know that Amber, Janna, and Shawn will, but I might not.
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Dr. Balis:
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How do you know that they will win?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Well, Janna and Amber are co-captains of JV cheerleading. They are two of the most popular girls in my grade, and they are really smart. Shawn is on the football and basketball teams. He has a 3.76 GPA, and every girl at school thinks he is sweet and funny.
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Dr. Balis:
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And what about you, Nicole?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I don't know my GPA right off, but I know that I'm not as qualified as they are.
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Dr. Balis:
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Do your friends think you'll win?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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They say I will.
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Dr. Balis:
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And do they think they will win?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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No. They keep on saying that they doubt that they'll win. I guess we all believe in each other but not in ourselves.
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Dr. Balis:
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That happens often. Is there anything else going on at school?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I tried out for cheerleading.
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Dr. Balis:
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And?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I made it.
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Dr. Balis:
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Did Janna and Amber try out?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Yeah. They made it, too.
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Dr. Balis:
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Who's the captain?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Two Junior snobs named Marty Anderson and Vaughn Johannsen. Nobody likes them.
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Dr. Balis:
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Why?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Because they aren't nice. They walk by people and make fun of them. I've gone to school with them since preschool, and after they made cheerleading in seventh grade, they went from being super sweet to being super snobs.
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Dr. Balis:
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Do you think that making cheerleading changed them?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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It went to their heads. Yeah, definitely. They made the dance team in sixth grade and kind of got snobbier. But cheerleading made them even bigger snobs.
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Dr. Balis:
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Do you think you'll change?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I hope not.
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Dr. Balis:
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Do you have to do some special training?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Yeah.
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Dr. Balis:
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When does that start?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Well, I have to go to three camps. They'll be in June and July. The first one will begin in five days. I might have a schedule for you next time.
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Dr. Balis:
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Thank you. I just noticed that your hair isn't cherry red anymore.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Yeah. I got the red stuff to come out. I decided that since I didn't like my dark brown hair, I would dye it kind of a golden blonde. What do you think?
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Dr. Balis:
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It looks nice.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Yeah. And I'll get my hair cut this afternoon, too--bad split ends, see?
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Dr. Balis:
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Hmm.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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This is strange, I'm talking about split ends with my doctor. Have I gone crazy?
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Dr. Balis:
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For the most part, I believe you are a normal teenager.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Me? Normal? You must not know me very well.
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Dr. Balis:
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Why?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Because I am not normal.
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Dr. Balis:
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You seem pretty normal to me.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Well, I'm not!
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Dr. Balis:
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What makes you abnormal?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Well...I'm just a good actress, so that's why you don't see it.
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Dr. Balis:
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I see. What are you working on in your Drama Class?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Nothing. But History has gotten interesting lately. My history teacher is into Titanic stuff. We watched all the movies and listened to the music from the latest movie. We also watched a lot of documentaries and read stories about the Titanic. So it's interesting.
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Dr. Balis:
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Hmm.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I wonder if she'll buy us posters from the new Titanic movie.
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Dr. Balis:
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Why?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I need a new poster for my room--I took down all my weird ones.
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Dr. Balis:
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You took all your old posters down? Why?
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Ms. Ulreich:
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Well, when I was on drugs, I painted my room black and had all these weird posters on the walls. Now that I am not doing drugs, I've redone my room. It's still black, but I took some other colors and kind of splashed them on the walls and all around. It's really pretty now. Well, I need to go.
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Dr. Balis:
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Have fun in Chicago. I hope you win your competition.
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Ms. Ulreich:
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I'll try. Bye, Doctor Balis.
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Dr. Balis:
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Goodbye, Nicole.
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###
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Doctor Balis' Notes on this Session
Transcripts of Nicole Ulreich's Communications
