DR. WALLACE: My heart went out to the teenage girl who had a large nose but whose parents would not allow her to undergo plastic surgery to correct what she felt was a problem. When I was a teen, I had a nearly identical experience. It started in fifth grade with occasional taunts. I would laugh with those who made fun of me because I was afraid if I showed how hurt I was, it would somehow encourage the bullies to continue. It kind of worked for a while, but eventually the taunting got worse.

The verbal abuse I suffered became intolerable in middle school. The remarks were frequent and cruel. I loved my school days otherwise. I graduated from high school with honors, and because of my singing voice, I was voted the most talented in my senior class. But I was always made aware of my nose size. As a 12th grader, the crude remarks were long gone, but they were replaced with cute and clever phrases. One boy used to always blurt out, "The nose knows; ask her!" whenever someone asked him a question he did not know the answer to. It was beyond rude and embarrassing, but I never made a scene over his insensitivity.

When I was on my own at age 19, I finally saved up enough money to have a rhinoplasty, or nose job. Immediately after, my self-esteem soared. My only regret was that I didn't have it done sooner. — Very Happy With my New Normal Nose, via email

VERY HAPPY: I firmly believe that plastic surgery is necessary when a teen suffers because Mother Nature produced an attribute that can easily be corrected, provided the funding to do so exists. Thanks for being brave enough to share your story. It may be inspirational to a young person who reads it.

A LESSON AND A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

DR. WALLACE: Several weeks ago, I read about a horrible automobile accident in our community. A heavy-duty truck collided with a car driven by a 17-year-old girl sometime after midnight. Three passengers, all under 21 years old, were killed. It was reported that the driver, who was not seriously injured, had alcohol on her breath. My heart sank when I read this tragic story.

Several years ago, my then-boyfriend and I went to a party where alcohol was served. We were 18 and thought it was cool to be drinking and discussing what colleges we planned to attend. We both had about eight drinks in a three-hour span. We were not sophisticated drinkers and were quite out of it when my boyfriend decided to drive us home.

He knew he wasn't his normal self, so he drove extra slowly, trying to get us home safely. We almost made it. About three miles away from my house, we crashed! If we'd been speeding, we might have been killed or seriously injured. Since we were wearing our seatbelts, we were not injured at all — just frightened. And my boyfriend's car suffered major damage since we hit a brick wall and scraped against it for the full length of his car.

The accident was a blessing in disguise. I truly learned my lesson. I have not taken a drink since that day, and I refuse to ride with any driver who has been drinking, even a small amount. Thanks for allowing me to speak my mind. I truly hope it will help other teens make good decisions when it comes to drinking and driving — or, rather, not drinking and driving. — Very Fortunate Girl, Sarasota, Florida

VERY FORTUNATE GIRL: Thank you for sharing your frightening experience with our teen readers. I trust it will inspire many other teens to make good driving decisions, be they drivers or passengers. In this day and age of Uber and Lyft, there is no excuse to drink and drive.

Always remember that forces in play with an automobile are quite dramatic, and even the smallest driving error can turn into a catastrophic tragedy that can ruin lives in mere seconds.

I commend you for learning from your mistake and for making a dedicated stand to ensure you never find yourself in that position again.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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