DR. WALLACE: I'm a girl who likes hanging out with friends, and I love to be involved in various activities. We're almost to summer now, and next school year, a lot of my friends at my high school are talking about two particular activities that they are interested in. Half of them are interested in going out for drama, and the other half are interested in participating in the marching band. Actually, I like the sound of both activities, so which one do you think I should try, and why? — They Both Sound Fun, via email

THEY BOTH SOUND FUN: It might not hurt, at least at first, to plan to go out for both activities. Once your new school year starts in the fall, you may find that you have a better aptitude for one than the other, or a closer connection to one of your classmates in one activity or the other.

I laude you for being proactive and interested in stepping into trying some extracurricular activities. Being able to do so with fellow classmates is one of the true enjoyments of the high school years for most teens. As for the marching band, it's likely you'll need to be able to play an instrument at least to some level of proficiency, unless you go out for the drill team or some other associated part of the group that you can qualify for.

You can also use this summer to practice your "drama chops" by reading all you can about drama and acting, and learning what your school typically does and how it goes about setting and establishing its drama performances. Good luck! Either of these two activities would be outstanding for you, should you be able to qualify. Use the summer to your advantage accordingly to practice and study hard on these two interesting activities.

MY IMPULSIVE TATTOO PURCHASE WAS A DISASTER!

DR. WALLACE: I'm 19, a college student and a bit of a loner. I had two fairly decent friends in high school, but they both left our area to attend universities in other states. We keep in touch via text, but you know how it goes when people move a distance away. Things are just never the same.

So last weekend, on a whim, I decided on my own to get a tattoo. I've never really seriously thought about doing it before, but for some reason, I had a burst of inspiration and decided to drive down to the city center and see if I could find a local tattoo parlor. I did find one, but it was late in the afternoon, and they were planning to close within a couple of hours. The guy I spoke with told me there should be enough time to do a small tattoo if I didn't want anything too intricate.

So I made a decision and told him what I wanted. A few hours later, I made my payment and went home almost in tears! To me, the tattoo looks like a disaster! It looks unprofessional, like I got it in a thrift shop somewhere. Instead of flaunting my tattoo to garner a little attention, which was my plan, now all I can think about is trying to hide it. Help! What are my options here? — Owner of a Thrift Shop Tattoo, via email

OWNER OF A THRIFT SHOP TATTOO: The old fable of "measure twice, cut once" seems to apply here! Sadly, you didn't do a lot of research and simply moved forward on impulse, and unfortunately it didn't work out for you.

From here, your could go to another tattoo place and see if they can reconfigure your existing tattoo into something more palatable for you. But definitely do your research this next time, and be sure to get some good, reliable referrals on which tattoo parlors are the very best in your area.

Another option, if you can tolerate the pain, is to have your tattoo removed, but be prepared to bite the bullet, should you decide to go this route. In the event you may seriously consider this as an option, be especially careful to do all your research in this regard as well. It is said quite reliably that having tattoos removed is far more painful than having them applied, and often multiple sessions over time are needed to complete the process, usually with a multiweek waiting period in between.

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: Samuel Ramos at Unsplash