DR. WALLACE: On the last day of school before summer break, our family life coach said that we should all make it a point to go out and enrich each of our individual lives by experimenting in different ways. These experiments cut across many aspects of our lives: what we eat, who we hang out with, where we work, how we spend our free time, what volunteer work we do and so forth.

As you can imagine, this could make for a huge change to my daily norms and routines, not to mention how I'd be processing all of this and adjusting to a new way of life.

My parents heard me explain this to them and, to put it mildly, they don't agree with just about anything our life coach said. So, I told my parents that I would at least write to you in order to solicit your opinion on this topic. Of course, I'd like you to completely agree with our life coach, but please give your straight, unvarnished opinion in any case. — Ready for Changes, via email

READY FOR CHANGES: Experimenting with new activities and accepting challenges provides opportunities to greatly enrich anyone's life. Learning new skills and exploring new avenues, however foreign or awkward they may seem at first, can prove to be a source of satisfaction and personal growth.

However, one person's opportunity may be another's unpleasant experience, so it truly depends on the individual and his or her personality, disposition and flexibility.

My first gut feeling would be to encourage you to gradually try some new things, a few at a time to see how you feel. Don't commit at first to massive changes that you somehow feel you must see through for a fixed period of time. Instead, tell yourself that you'll try a few new things, but you won't hesitate to stop or pull the plug on those that don't suit you or don't feel right for whatever reason.

I do agree that the teen years are a good time for modest experimentation, within limits, instead of waiting for the right time to begin something new later in life. The old axiom of older people being set in their ways holds sway for good reason.

Therefore, it is my opinion that teens should take a chance to experiment (within the bounds of good taste, morality and character) when the opportunity presents itself.

I hope your parents will view the word "experimenting" as a positive and important step for teens to develop into productive, law-abiding adults. To get them onboard, I suggest you write out the first three or four changes you would likely make and begin an open discussion with them on those topics. I believe all family members will relax and become a bit more open minded if they understand these are only moderate experiments, not radical permanent changes.

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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