DR. WALLACE: In the last week of this school year, I began talking to a junior at my high school. We got to know each other better and ended up going on a few dates and actually had a great time hanging out together.

I am really starting to like this guy but I'm feeling reluctant to keep this going because I am moving to Tennessee for college a few months from now. I currently live in California, so Tennessee is going to be a long way away from the West Coast.

If this guy and I were to end up dating regularly for the remainder of this summer, we would immediately have to slide into a long-distance relationship, which sounds really hard for a relationship just starting out.

I will also be very busy meeting new people and adjusting to life in college at the same time. I really like him, though, and think this could potentially be a good relationship for me in many ways, so I'm torn whenever I think about this situation. Should I end this immediately right now or try to make things work out from now up to next fall even though I'll be a few thousand miles away from him? — Facing a geographical canyon, via email

FACING A GEOGRAPHICAL CANYON: I recommend that you not get too far ahead of yourself at this point and instead enjoy your life and this friendship week by week and month by month during the summer.

The two of you have only begun dating, therefore there is still a lot you don't yet know about each other and your potential longer-term compatibility. This relationship could run its course over the summertime and naturally end of its own volition, just like many fledgling relationships do.

If, on the other hand, the two of you truly grow closer and enjoy each other's friendship and company, you each have a potential friend for life at the very least, and at your young ages there is still plenty of time for you to potentially reunite romantically at some point in the future. In this scenario, he needs to enjoy his senior year of high school, and you indeed need to focus on your transition to college life and living in a new state. With today's technology, you can keep in touch with each other quite well, but it's likely that you will both elect to see other individuals socially going forward, and that's quite natural.

You can remain friends at a distance, and if one or the other of you (or both) enters into other long-term relationships, your romantic days with each other for the near term will likely be over. But life takes strange twists and turns over time, so it's impossible to say if the two of you will have the opportunity to date each other after this summer.

But for this present summer, I do recommend that you continue to get to know each other better and spend some social time together. One can never have enough wonderful, solid friends in this lifetime. You never know if and when your paths will cross again, but if they do, you'll immediately be starting from a wonderful, solid foundation of friendship — with a special spark as a bonus.

IS MY LITTLE BROTHER RIGHT?

DR. WALLACE: My little brother recently noticed that today, June 27, is "International Pineapple Day," and he thinks that's ridiculous. He says pineapples are overly sweet and therefore are just as bad for us as eating raw sugar or sugarcane.

I argued back to him that pineapples are not only cool but they are healthy fruits. However, I never heard of there being a "Pineapple Day," so what's up with that?

My little brother is 11 and thinks he knows it all. I'm almost 17 and I really enjoy correcting him and educating him whenever I can. Who's right on this one? — Older sister, via email

OLDER SISTER: You are correct. Pineapples are loaded with vitamin B, manganese and fiber. And as a bonus, a standard portion can provide up to 1/3 of the recommended daily value of vitamin C as well.

I also had not heard that there is a "Pineapple Day," but indeed there is one! It was likely started by cultures or businesses that harvest and distribute pineapples to increase exposure, and therefore demand, for this delicious and nutritious fruit. Tell your little brother that just about every natural raw fruit is indeed healthy, and that if he wants to grow up to become as smart as his older sister is, he should incorporate them into his diet regularly.

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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