CHAPTER 19
PSYCHOLOGIST’S OFFICE
AUGUST 30
OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT OF COUNTY PSYCHOLOGIST DR. ALLEN OSWALD WITH PATIENT BRADLEY NAVARROR, CASE #MN449704, AUGUST 30, 2:30 PM
DOCTOR OSWALD: Good afternoon, Brad. This is the last of our summer meetings. September is almost here and school is starting next week. I got a call yesterday from the courts requesting my opinion on how we should proceed with your future. I’ll be bluntly honest. I am debating about what I should do next. The way I see it, I can make three recommendations: One, you can stay at your parent’s house. Two, I can move you to a foster home. Or three, I can recommend that your progress has been unacceptable and incarcerate you in a juvenile prison for the year.
BRAD: Leave me where I am. I want a second chance; I can make it.
DOCTOR OSWALD: I’m not sure what I’ll recommend yet. I don’t have to decide until the end of the week.
BRAD: Please don’t send me to prison.
DOCTOR OSWALD: I’ve witnessed a lot of changes in you recently, but I’m still trying to decide if they’re all real. Or has this all been an act? What do you think your biggest change has been?
BRAD: I’ve been talking to people more.
DOCTOR OSWALD: Your parents?
BRAD: Yes. We don’t fight like we used to.
DOCTOR OSWALD: But during the school year, when the stress starts, will the fighting start again?
BRAD: I’ve moved forward and I’m not looking back. This next year will be different, I promise.
DOCTOR OSWALD: But I’m wondering, are you being real with me? Or are you lying to me to get out of more trouble? You’re only fifteen. There’s a lot at stake here for the community, and frankly, I don’t know what I’m going to do, or what the right answer is yet. What do you think your greatest fear is?
BRAD: I’m afraid that if I change, I’m not sure who I’ll become. What if everyone trying to change me is wrong?
DOCTOR OSWALD: That’s the fear of the unknown. You always know what you have if you don’t change, but you never know what you may get if you do change. Change is a risk. And risk is a fear we all take when we embrace change. Sometimes you just have to have faith and trust that things can get better, even when you’re not sure. How about another fear – I’m sitting on the edge of what I should recommend for your future –
BRAD: I’ll say another thing; I’m afraid that if I make one mistake, everything I’ve worked for will come crashing down and I’ll be back to where I started.
DOCTOR OSWALD: Unfortunately, you’ve made a lot of mistakes in your past, and they’re going to be remembered for a long time. You are going to be watched more closely than everyone else for the next few years. But rather than being afraid of that fact, I recommend you to be motivated by it. You will have plenty of time to prove yourself in the future. It’s not how you start in life. It’s how you finish. Many of the most successful people in history have started in horrible situations, but they found creative ways to become incredibly successful. You can do the same thing if you try hard enough.
BRAD: I’ll be honest, I think what happened to me is kind of unfair.
DOCTOR OSWALD: Let’s talk about what’s fair. What is fair is such a debatable subject. People can waste so much life when they convince themselves that they are not being treated fairly in life. Life can be very simple if you can just appreciate what you do have, and stop being frustrated by what you don’t have. I do have one more question for you before we finish these summer sessions.
BRAD: What?
DOCTOR OSWALD: How are you going to handle the kids who bullied you when you return to school?
BRAD: They never cared about me; they won’t notice me this year.
DOCTOR OSWALD: I think they will. I want to know how you’ll react when you meet them.
BRAD: I’m not afraid of them. It’s time that I start being a leader and doing what’s right for my life.
DOCTOR OSWALD: Thank you, Brad. That final statement will end our summer sessions.
BRAD: So what’s your decision for my future?
DOCTOR OSWALD: I will review your entire case tomorrow and I will make my final recommendation to the court on Friday. But I will share this with you before you leave. This is my personal opinion of what we should do, and how we should move forward –
RECORDING STOPS FOR UNEXPLAINED REASONS. AUGUST 30 – 3:30 PM
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