DR. WALLACE: I'll be graduating from high school soon and I've been thinking about my future career for quite a long time. I've already been accepted to the college of my choice, even though I don't know specifically what field I'm going to study yet.

My father considers me a little bit of a "daddy's girl" because he and I have had a great relationship my entire life. He's a corporate attorney, and he expects me to at least consider following his footsteps into the profession. He has been so successful at. However, I'm not sure about that field.

My challenges, I don't have anything else figured out at the moment, so I don't want to just automatically default to following in my father's footsteps. I can't tell you that I often experience warm relations with other people and I interact very well with clubs, organizations and groups of all kinds and sizes. I find people's interests fascinating, even if I don't share the interest. I guess it's my curiosity factor that drives me to learn what makes others tick.

I can also tell you that I'm quite diplomatic. It just comes naturally to me. My friends always seek me out whenever they have a dispute with each other. I'm known to be fair, level-headed and reasonable in the advice and judgments I give to my friends.

Beyond simply just marching towards a corporate law career, what other fields do you think I should at least consider, given my background and personality traits? — Want to Consider Alternatives, via email

WANT TO CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES: You might be a natural fit into a career of counseling, career advising, hospitality or even mediating — which would be a related field to what your father does, but separate, unique and quite different in terms of the skill sets required to be a successful mediator.

There should be several other alternatives you can think of as well, so I would advise you to consider your strengths and speak to as many counselors, business professionals, educators, and others that you come across to tell you their opinions on what career paths would be best for your particular skill sets.

Going through this process definitely helps you to make a better decision as to whether to enter the specific profession your father is in, or to blaze your own path based on what you feel is the best calling for you personally.

I'VE ALWAYS BEEN ONE TO DREAM BIG!

DR. WALLACE: I'm a guy who is reasonably confident, but I work hard to make sure I don't come off as arrogant. When it comes to my future, especially after I graduate from college, I really like to think big in terms of what the future could hold for me.

I have some friends who think this is great and they encourage me, but a significant portion of my friends think I'm either a dreamer or completely delusional! I'll admit I do have big dreams, but I disagree strongly with the assessment of my mindset as delusional.

In a way, I'm glad that my friends are split in terms of how they look at my mindset. If everyone encouraged me, I would think that perhaps they were all just telling me what I wanted to hear. And on the other hand, if everyone told me I was a delusional dreamer, it might shake my confidence a bit, even though I know I would want to work harder to try to prove them all wrong.

Do you think it's prudent and perhaps even reasonable to have big plans as a young person? — My Goals Are Lofty, via email

MY GOALS ARE LOFTY: If a person is ever to have big dreams, starting them as a young person makes perfect sense to me. Young people often see the world as full of possibilities, hope and wonder. Having big dreams is a good thing, especially when it's coupled with prudent hard work and research, carefully coupled with ongoing course corrections based upon new knowledge and experiences.

Keep pursuing your dreams and do so in a respectful and earnest way. Imagine your activities through the eyes of other people and treat them in the same way that you would wish to be treated if you were observing someone "going for it, in pursuit of their own goals.

Having any sort of a game plan is a very good thing, even if one sets out lofty goals, as you have. The key is to learn from the experiences and tactics that you employ and constantly adjust and improve your odds of success, both in terms of your achievements and of how you behave with and interact with others during your cherished journey.

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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