DR. WALLACE: I'm part of a group of teens who made a decision over the recent holidays that we would carve out some time each week, even for just a few hours, to do volunteer and service work.

We're having a great time and not only are we all bonding with each other, since only a few of us knew anyone in the group, but we are really all enjoying helping out our fellow human beings and our environment.

So far, we have volunteered to pick up trash for hours near a lake in our area, we've served at local homeless centers and soup kitchens and we've spent regular time at senior centers near our school.

All of the experiences have been great, but my personal favorite has been visiting the seniors! Many of them are in their late 80s and some were even in their mid-to-late 90s! We were encouraged in advance to ask them to tell us stories about their lives and times, and I can tell you that the stories I've heard are beyond interesting and the seniors are so sweet!

I don't really have a question for you today, but I wanted to encourage all teens who might read my letter here to consider doing volunteer work; it's so rewarding.

And finally, I want to thank our teachers at school. They all encouraged us to do volunteer work and then intentionally put us in groups without any close friends. This forced us to meet new students, and through the shared experiences, I've made a new handful of close friends that I likely would never have spent time with otherwise. Fortunately, none are strangers to me now, and some I just know I'll always keep in touch with.

I encourage all other schools to consider this type of arrangement. It's been nothing short of fantastic! — Enjoying Giving Back, via email

ENJOYING GIVING BACK: I can feel your enthusiasm from here! Good for you, your fellow students and the teachers at your school. What a great idea to put students who are strangers together in groups to go out into the community to volunteer together.

We as human beings often get caught up in just a small circle of acquaintances, and this idea was a great one on many levels, especially for those you brought assistance, encouragement and joy to.

I encourage all teachers who may read this column to consider any program loosely based on this idea. Having students get to know each other as they serve is a great learning experience and life experience as well.

MY RECENT WEIGHT GAIN IS A MYSTERY TO ME

DR. WALLACE: I'm a female college student who works late hours as a server at a restaurant several nights a week. It's a good job, and my gratuities give me the ability to support myself.

The tough part of this is that I end up eating my final meal of the day near midnight on the evenings that I work. Lately, I've noticed that I'm starting to gain weight. Could this be that it's because I'm eating so much so late in the day? — Successful Server, via email

SUCCESSFUL SERVER: Actually, the time of day or night that you consume calories does not influence your weight, or weight gain, as in your case.

You're likely getting at least some exercise since you're a server who is on her feet for many hours, so this is likely giving you a bit of an aerobic workout, or at least hours of de facto brisk walking.

Therefore, your weight gain is likely tied to your diet. Are you eating more fattening foods lately? Or are you eating more than you have in the recent past? I ask since your daily calorie intake and the amount of calories you burn each day are the largest factors that will influence your weight, barring an illness or condition you may be unaware of.

Take some time to sit down and think through what you've been eating (and drinking!) lately and see if you can note any caloric intake increase that might be driving your weight gain. Also visit your family physician to get a check-up and tell your physician about your recent weight gain so that the two of you can seek to eliminate any other issues that might be a root cause.

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: micheile henderson at Unsplash