A Teenage Cheerleader Talks to the School Nurse About Her Drinking

Missy was a quiet sixteen-year-old junior in high school who fell under the social radar at school.  When she got an opportunity to join the cheerleading team, however, she saw this as her chance to become more popular and better known.  As with most things in life, there was a price to pay for this new life.  To fit in with the other girls she felt like she had to drink just as much as they did.  In fact, drinking became something that awoke a sleeping giant in Missy.  Indeed, she started to drink as if she were making up for the “lost years” when she was a nobody. 

After about six months of heavy drinking she started exhibiting some of the effects of alcohol abuse.  For instance, she could tell that there were major changes in her energy, in her health, and in her schoolwork.  So she made an appointment with the school nurse so she could discuss her drinking and her health concerns.