DR. WALLACE: My family and I live in a small town. I have a brother who has the best luck of any human I have ever seen.

He always seems to get good grades, plus he's cute and everybody likes him. And when he does get a hard class at school that he doesn't understand too well, it always seems that he'll have a teacher who will tutor him to help him get a passing grade. He's always finding things, too, like the time he found $20 on the grass outside of our local mall.

I, on the other hand, don't often get really high grades. I just barely pass my classes. I'm OK-looking, and I don't have as many friends as my brother does, but I do have a few really great friends. I've also entered many contests on our local radio station, but I don't ever win anything.

And finally, whenever I do something wrong, I get caught and grounded by my parents. My brother, on the other hand, does a few sneaky things here and there, and he never seems to get caught. I asked him the other day why he never gets caught and I do. He said it's because some guy named Ferris Bueller is his hero who taught him everything he knows. Who's this Ferris, and what did my brother learn from him? — Unlucky Little Bro, via email

UNLUCKY LITTLE BRO: Good luck and bad luck do not exist in the way that most people think, and believe it or not, sometimes we make our own luck! In fact, one definition of luck in folklore says that luck is created when hard work collides with opportunity.

Some people use attitude to bring them what may appear to be luck. They expect a certain outcome and truly believe they are on the path toward it. Things might not always work out as planned, but those who have positive expectations do often have more things go their way than those who constantly expect doom and gloom.

It does sound to me as though your brother is modeling his behavior after the movie character Ferris Bueller. Your homework assignment is to watch the classic old movie titled "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," and I'll leave it up to you to determine if your brother has anywhere near the super skills the young Mr. Bueller demonstrated in that comedy!

HELP, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!

DR. WALLACE: Two years ago, when I was 15, I really thought I wanted to go to college to study to become a doctor because I wanted to help others. Then, last year, I decided that I wanted to be a musician because I love playing the guitar, and I'm pretty good at it.

But this year, I've been home a lot due to COVID-19, and my buddies and I don't have anywhere for our band to play these days. We used to play at school dances, weddings and local parties, but all of that has now stopped. So, I want to have my own business making a really nice clothing line. I've already developed some new styles all of my friends love. It's so strange that my thoughts about my future keep changing so much. I'll soon be 16, and I'm afraid I'll change my mind again three or four more times before I graduate college!

How come I keep changing my mind, and how can I choose just one plan for my life? — Undecided Future, via email

UNDECIDED FUTURE: I think it's wonderful that you are exploring so many possibilities! You are obviously talented in many areas, so I encourage you to keep trying different things as your interests develop. Youth is absolutely the time to explore and consider many possibilities for your future life.

I have met many older adults who worked in what they told me was a mundane, uninteresting job for 30 years because it was the first one they could find and they simply stayed put.

I trust you'll eventually know better what course of action you'd like to pursue for yourself once you reach your latter college years. Until then, keep doing what you're doing now. And for other teens who may be reading your story and feeling similar apprehensive thoughts about their own futures, I always suggest seeking a career in a field you truly enjoy, one you have a passion for. Think of it this way: Wouldn't it be better to work at a job each day for 30 years that you found fun, interesting and fulfilling rather than just taking the first mundane job you could find? And if you must start with a job you don't enjoy to earn some money, do not stop looking to eventually move on to something you truly enjoy.

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.

Photo credit: Couleur at Pixabay