I'd Like to Write a Teen Column by Dr. Robert Wallace on Creators.com

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I'd Like to Write a Teen Column

DR. WALLACE: When you were a high school student, were you susceptible to peer pressure and, if so, what kind of pressure was it? How were your grades? Did you enjoy your teen years? What else can you tell me about your youth? I'm the editor of our school newspaper, and I'd like to do a column on you because I'd like to write a teen column when I graduate from college. —Katie, Chicago, Ill.

KATIE: Peer pressure was around when I was a student at Emerson High School in Gary, Ind., but not in quite so dangerous a form as we have today.

My peers were mostly athletes, and the biggest pressure I felt was to earn a varsity letter — a big, gray-block "E" — put it on a gold sweater and wear it to school at least a dozen times a month. I confess that, because of that pressure, my grades were not as good as they could have been.

Peer pressure caused me to spend more time working out for track and cross-country than studying. I didn't plan on attending college, so B's were good enough. But I was capable of doing better.

Alcohol (beer) and cigarettes were part of the high school scene back then, but I never felt pressure to go in that direction. Violence and criminal behavior, drug abuse and gang activity were so rare among teens then that they were, for all practical purposes, nonexistent.

Six months after receiving my high school diploma, I found myself in the Navy shipping off to Korean waters because the United States was engaged in a war to keep Korea a free nation. At war's end, I returned and used the GI Bill to attend Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.

I thoroughly enjoyed my teen years, and the friends I made in high school remain my friends today!

YOUR BOYFRIEND'S EXCUSE IS PATHETIC

DR.

WALLACE: I caught my boyfriend out with another girl. He called and said he was sick and broke a date with me, so I went to a movie with my older sister. Guess who we saw? My boyfriend and another girl! He didn't see me, so I didn't challenge him because I was with my sister, and she doesn't like him anyway.

The next day, "slick" Willie and I had a talk. He apologized and said he smoked marijuana for the first time with his buddy and his sister, and the girl he was out with was the sister. He said he never would have taken her out if he hadn't smoked marijuana because he didn't know what he was doing.

He promised never to smoke marijuana again. I want to believe him. Should I? —P.J., North Aurora, Ill.

P.J.: That's one of the most pathetic excuses I've heard in a long time. Smoking marijuana is illegal and unhealthy and can be blamed for a lot of stupid things, but not this. Your boyfriend went out with his buddy's sister because he wanted to, not because his mind was temporarily altered by pot.

So, not only does he break his word to you and lie about it, but he also refuses to take responsibility for his actions. You may want to believe him, but you won't, will you?

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@galesburg.net. 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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LW1: What Dr. Wallace said.

As far as your desire to write a teen column – hmmm ... do you write one now for your school newspaper? If you don't – I'll assume it's a bit late to start now this year – if you're a junior and will be a senior this fall (2013-2014 school year), I'd recommend starting an advice column. Ask for students to write in, respond with what you think is the right answer based on your experiences and see what kind of feedback you get.

If you're going into college, you may want to talk to the adviser of the campus newspaper, or perhaps the editor and ask if you could write a column. You've got nothing to lose, and it's the same thing: Ask for letters, respond and see what the feedback is. Granted, you'd be writing to a college audience there, but you'll gain valuable experience.

Good luck with your idea and let us know how things turn out.

LW2: You may want to believe him about not wanting to smoke marijuana in the future; yeah, he'd have to prove himself there, but I think telling him, "I don't believe you when you say you'll not smoke pot again" will only get him to smoke more.

That's where my defense of him ends.

Because ... (drumroll please) DO NOT TAKE THIS GUY BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He's broken too many other promises and breached too many other rules for me to recommend giving this guy a second chance. He did something worse than smoke a joint, IMO: He lied. Meaning, he claimed he was sick, but he was sure well enough to go to the movies. And, refusing to take responsibilities for his lies ... what a f'-in loser!

The fact that your sister dislikes this boy speaks volumes. DTMFGDA. (Like someone said a few weeks ago on here – look it up.)

Comment: #1
Posted by: Bobaloo
Thu Apr 25, 2013 6:38 AM

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LW1: Read as many advice columns as you can (they're easy to find online) and read them analytically. What do you like about each columnist's approach? Dislike? Who uses humor well, and who does not? Who clearly has done his/her homework? Are they aiming for a general audience, or do they market themselves to a particular group of people by choice of letter and how they frame the answer (i.e., teens, women, singles, business world, car advice, etc.) How are their answers received in the comment section?

Those are insights that will help you as you shape your writing style.

Note, too, which columnists provide feedback and how. I'm guessing more advice columnists will take the approach of Dear Prudence and Carolyn Hax by offering real-time Q&A chats with their followers, because those chats offer a wealth of opportunities for future columns, and allow a columnist to experience instant feedback.

You'll also want to read a fair amount of psychology, sociology and history in college... to gain insights into why people behave as they do...with an emphasis on adolescents and their development.

Also, hone your writing skills. Brevity is good -- no one likes wading through acres of text, and you want to keep in mind that it's very, very, VERY easy to lose your reader with the click of a mouse or the turn of a page as the reader looks to find something that's funnier, briefer, more entertaining, more interesting.

Good luck -- I think the world could use more advice columnists.

Comment: #2
Posted by: hedgehog
Thu Apr 25, 2013 10:57 AM

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'Tween 12 and 20 by Dr. Robert Wallace

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I'd Like to Write a Teen Column

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