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My Friend's Mother Helps Her Cheat
DR. WALLACE: We have homework four days a week in world history. I do all my homework by myself, but my best friend's mother helps her with hers. I average a B on my homework, but my friend averages an A. I don't believe this is fair. Both of us are …Read more.
Cousins Don't Normally Date Each Other
DR. WALLACE: The End of Semester Fling is the biggest dance party and school-sponsored event at our school. Even the teachers and administrators show up and have fun. Most students attend the Fling as couples, but those not dating can show up as a …Read more.
I Feel Abandoned and Alone
DR. WALLACE: I'm 17 and about as sad and depressed as a teen can be. My boyfriend left me for another girl. I loved Jeremy more than any human on earth. He was my life. I went out of town during the Christmas break. My parents and I spent the …Read more.
Please Tell Me How to be Happy
DR. WALLACE: I'm 14 and down on myself. I feel like all the girls at my school are prettier and smarter than I am. I know they have more money to spend than I do, and they always wear nicer clothes than I have. When it comes to dating, I don't think …Read more.
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Pack Up and Move OutDR. WALLACE: I'm 19 and so is my boyfriend. We have been dating for over three years and are supposed to be in love. That's why we're living together. I work from 9 to 5 on weekdays and Michael works from noon to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Instead of coming home after work, he goes out with his buddies. Sometimes he doesn't get home until after 1 a.m. I can't sleep until he gets home. I lie in bed wondering where he is and what he's doing, and I worry that he might be injured. When I complain, he tells me to quit nagging, and if I'm a nag, he'll forget about getting married to me. Well, we might as well be married. All we lack is a marriage license and ceremony. Do you think I'm nagging just because I express my displeasure about Michael leaving me alone most evenings and sometimes staying out half of the night? Many nights I make dinner and wait for him to come home, but not only does he not show up, he doesn't even call. — Connie, Grand Rapids, Mich. CONNIE: Face facts. Michael has no commitment to you and your live-in arrangement with him is not working out. You might consider yourself as good as married, but your boyfriend doesn't see it that way. He wants one or maybe two marital benefits — sex and cooking — but the rest of the time, he just wants his freedom. Your commitment to Michael is enormous and he's taking advantage of that. He's using some vague future promise to get married — or not — as an ongoing threat to get what he wants from you now.
My advice is to forget about marrying Michael. Set yourself free of him and take charge of your life. How soon can you pack up and move out? PEOPLE WHO USE CONDOMS BECOME PARENTS DR. WALLACE: You always told teens that abstinence was the only way to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Then I read where you told a sexually active girl to make sure that her partner used a condom during sexual activity. Are you not aware that some people who use condoms are called parents in nine months, and some can catch a sexually transmitted disease even though a condom was used? Please remind teens that the only way to avoid STD's and pregnancies is to not have sex! — Mother, Naples, Fla. MOTHER: I never neglect to tell teens that abstinence is the only way to avoid STD's and pregnancy that is 100 percent certain. I'm going to reach teen readers with this message, but not all of them. For those who choose to be sexually active, I prefer that they have the odds on their side. Condoms are 95 percent effective at preventing pregnancy and 85 percent effective at protecting sexually transmitted disease. This is not as good as abstinence, but it's a lot better than nothing. 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. E-mail 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. COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM
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