DR. WALLACE: I've never been one to spend a lot of time with school groups, clubs and organizations. However, as a junior in high school, I've loosened up a little bit, especially because I have a new friend this school year who moved into our school district and has become my new friend. She truly is a social butterfly and loves attending groups, clubs and organizations, the more the merrier.

Because of this, I've gone to just a few meetings with her, and to my surprise, one of the clubs was not only interesting, but I liked several of the people I met there. I think I have a problem, however, because I've already laid out my future career path with the help of my parents who work in the same field, but this particular club topic has opened my eyes to some new possibilities. Now I'm not sure which direction I want to go in the future. Should I say anything to my parents about this revelation or not? — Suddenly Hesitant About My Future Plans, via email

SUDDENLY HESITANT ABOUT MY FUTURE PLANS: By all means, it's fine to tell your parents that you've attended a campus club with a friend of yours and that you found a new field quite interesting. Mention that you're going to do some further research into it and that you may be interested in their evaluation and opinions further down the line.

For now, don't worry too much about making an ironclad decision. Take your time to learn about this new field and let your thoughts grow and evolve naturally as you go forward. One of the great things about being a young person, especially a young student, is that you have so many possibilities in front of you. My advice is to never feel that you have one track you can't get off of because life often is very fluid and changeable, whether we intend for it to be or not. Therefore, I feel it's best to keep an open mind and explore many possibilities, and think carefully before you make final decisions. And beyond that, once a decision is made, if you find yourself facing regret, there's still plenty of time in life to course-correct and try a new avenue.

MY GUT TELLS ME I NEED TO SEEK NEW SCENERY ENTIRELY

DR. WALLACE: Right now I'm considering where I may want to go to college, and I have a gnawing feeling in my stomach that tells me I'd like to go somewhere out of our area. I truly believe I need a change of scenery and feel like I'm in a rut in our midsize town in our state.

I would love to go to college somewhere at least a few hundred miles away or farther so that I could experience the feeling of looking forward to new adventures and experiences, and to be able to see what it's like to live on my own, even in a dorm room at a university far away from here.

Do you think it's all right for me to focus on going to college out of the area rather than trying to find a local school that may match up with the field of study I'm planning on pursuing? — I Have a Wandering Feeling, via email

I HAVE A WANDERING FEELING: Life is often what you make it! If your gut is telling you that you need to get out to explore and see new places, meet new people and go through new life experiences all within the cocoon of a college that is not in your immediate area, I say go for it. Of course, you'll need to arrange finances, such as how you're going to pay for your books, tuition and living expenses.

Therefore, you need to be diplomatic and speak to your parents about how you can make this happen, hopefully with their blessing. To best receive a positive response to this idea, I recommend that you take the field of study you're interested in and match that up with universities that are at least several hundred miles away from your current hometown. Try to find a handful that you would enjoy giving a try, and get college applications out to all of them as quickly as you can. Then sit down with your parents when offers hopefully come in, and explain what you want to do and why.

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 [email protected]. 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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