DR. WALLACE: Does being a well-behaved, disciplined person truly pay off in the long run? I'm 23 years old and have been working very hard since I started middle school. By working hard, I mean cultivating healthy habits and developing a strong work ethic in both my academic and personal life.

For example, I never partied in high school or college, and I often spent the majority of my weekends in the library studying for exams or writing term papers. I also worked full time while I was in college to save money and pay off my tuition. I never had very much free time but I still managed to maintain good friendships throughout my time in school. Now that I've graduated from college, however, I'm beginning to wonder if anything truly special will come from my discipline and dedication.

My current job prospects look pretty good, but I already know of people from my college who have landed incredible positions at major companies, and a lot of those people partied every weekend and had a lot more fun than I did. I've never been tempted to live a wild, crazy party lifestyle, but now I'm beginning to regret that I didn't have any of those experiences in college and seem to be in the exact same position as those who did live that way. I'm proud of myself for continuing to remain a disciplined and devoted person, but I'm beginning to wonder if living that way will ever prove to have significant advantages? Did I miss out when I had the chance? — Left wondering about this, via email

LEFT WONDERING ABOUT THIS: Look at it this way: You have the rest of your life to enjoy social outings where you can enjoy social times and let your hair down here and there, so to speak. And in doing so at your current age, your maturity will guide you to make better decisions during your future fun times than you likely would have made when you were younger.

The good habits you've built will pay you dividends across your lifetime in a multitude of ways. I congratulate you on being so disciplined and dedicated to the goals you set for yourself. Yes, your hard work and discipline will indeed pay off over time in many ways, some of which you are not even considering yet.

And comparing yourself to other people is a losing endeavor for a variety of reasons. You don't truly know what setbacks or troubles others have experienced or are currently experiencing. Simply looking at Facebook or Instagram feeds for comparative purposes does not exactly give the whole story, right?

Going forward, do seek out some opportunities to enjoy yourself responsibly and to have some fun times traveling, seeing new sights and hanging out with your best friends and closest family members. Never forget that you're running your own race, and the only true comparison you have to be concerned with is how you are performing when compared to the potential you have. By this measure, I'd say your life to this point has been a rousing success.

MY FRIEND WANTS ME TO WRITE THEM, TOO!

DR. WALLACE: A good friend of mine showed me something this week that kind of freaked me out! She's 18 and I'm 17, and we've been best friends for almost three years now. We both just graduated from high school and we both live at home with our parents.

She showed me letters she's been receiving from prisoners in various prisons around the country! Apparently, she found them on the internet, and she tells me that she loves the attention they give her, plus the raw details they tell her about prison life and what they did to land there in the first place.

She got a post office box in January, and she told me that all the letters go there for her safety. Now she wants me to write to some prisoners too since the ones she has written all tell her that they have other prisoner friends who are lonely, too. I'm not so sure about this. What do you think? — Unsure about becoming a prison pen pal, via email

UNSURE ABOUT BECOMING A PRISON PEN PAL: It's one thing to write to a prisoner you knew before incarceration took place, and it's entirely another thing to simply start writing to incarcerated strangers in prison. Yes, it's true most prisoners are lonely, but you and your actions did not cause their present situation, and the fact is that you truly don't have a way to know the character of any of these prisoners before engaging them.

At your young age, you would likely be better served by socializing with others in your local community in person. You can visit children's hospitals, retirement homes, women's shelters and a variety of other locations should you wish to help your fellow citizens with some of your free time.

Also, as a minor, I would not encourage you to try to obtain a P.O. box without notifying your parents that you wish to do so. And if you were to bring this subject up, they would no doubt ask you why you feel you need such a box. And if you were to answer your parents honestly, how do you feel they would react to this request given the reason you have for it?

If a family friend or a family member were to be incarcerated, I'd encourage you to write or visit in person along with other family members. But at 17, when it comes to strangers who are incarcerated, I encourage you to hold off on this idea for now. As you age and mature, perhaps you can find a reputable organization that helps prisoners. Then, with their structure and support, you may be able to help out. I suggest a hard pass on you getting involved right now simply to wish to hear salacious details of crimes and of current prison life.

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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