DR. WALLACE: I'm a senior in high school and the only girl out of our group of six close friends who does not have a steady boyfriend presently. I've had a string of relationships that didn't end well, plus another handful of very awkward first dates that never were repeated.

Because of this, my closest friends and even my siblings and family members have insisted upon introducing me to an endless string of new people. And perhaps because of my lack of previous success, they're starting to introduce me to people who are much older than I am, in some cases a bit embarrassingly younger than I am, of different cultures, different personalities, widely different interests and lifestyles, and even from different schools 20 to 30 miles away — and a few even suggested people they found trolling on the Internet!

I find all of this quite unsettling and even beyond embarrassing. The way they continue to try to "fix me up" makes me feel like I'm deficient or stunted when it comes to finding my own dates. At first, I was only frustrated, but the continued embarrassment has led me to now starting to feel slightly angry with some of those around me. What should I do? I don't want to lose my close friends or upset family members, but I literally feel like screaming at the top of my lungs, "Stop it!" — Embarrassment Is Turning to Anger, via email

EMBARRASSMENT IS TURNING TO ANGER: Do your best to calm yourself down and think of how effective it will be for you to take another strategic approach. Don't show your frustration, don't raise your voice or snap at anyone around you. The next time someone offers to set you up, smile sweetly and decline the offer in a very calm tone of voice. Tell them that you have things you're working on now on your own that you don't want to disrupt!

This will create mystique and also tend to diffuse the situation and perhaps your anxiety level. Indeed, you will have things that you're working on by yourself, as I trust you can smile and say hello to a few strangers each week that you come into contact with. You never know when a smile or "hello" will turn into a brief but enjoyable conversation. And enough of this type of conversation could lead to an opportunity to go out on a date.

My advice is to simply send out the vibe that you're doing fine on your own and that when the time comes, you'll let them know when you found somebody you would like to introduce them to.

SHE FEELS SHE CAN BOARD HER DOG WITH ME ANYTIME!

DR. WALLACE: I have a coworker at the restaurant I work at who has become a good friend of mine. We get along great, work hard together during our shifts at our job and have a lot in common.

The only problem I'm having with her is that she tends to go out of town with her boyfriend for a couple of days every few weeks, and because I also have a small dog, she seems to think it's my obligation to watch her dog while she's gone! I did it once, but our two dogs didn't get along too well, and when I asked for help from some of my siblings to watch my dog and her dog when I needed to go to the store, I got a lot of pushback.

I want to keep her as a friend, and I'm going to be working with her at the same job for the foreseeable future. How do I get out of having to be her dog-sitter every time she needs help in that regard? — Her Dog Is Not My Responsibility, via email

HER DOG IS NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY: Take the time to actually go through the steps of finding a person or a place to watch your dog, if you were to be the one going out of town for two or three days at a time.

See if there are any family, friends or local dog boarding centers that you would feel comfortable putting your dog in. Find out what the rates are, and ask around your neighborhood if there are any kids who would like to make extra money dog-sitting. Then when your friend inevitably asks you to watch her dog again, politely explain that your dog and hers don't tend to mesh well when she's not there, but that you've done some research that could be very helpful for her. Proceed at that point to give her all the information, contact numbers and details she would need to make a good decision about who can best watch her beloved pup.

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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