DR. WALLACE: I'm a freshman in high school, and a friend of mine brought some cigarettes to school this week. During our lunch break, we went out on the sports fields, and he handed one cigarette to each of us. He took out matches and lit his cigarette and took a couple of puffs of it, but before any of the rest of us could light our cigarettes, we heard a teacher yelling across the field that we needed to come closer to the school building.

That teacher didn't actually see him smoking, so he dropped the cigarette on the ground and stomped it out. The rest of us put the cigarettes we had in our pockets. Our friend with the cigarettes wanted us to meet later after school to smoke them, but my sister had a dental appointment, so our parents picked us up together as soon as school was out. I didn't see those friends again that day.

I forgot the cigarette was in my pocket when I took a shower that night and changed clothes. My mother found the cigarette because she was doing laundry, and she exploded when she saw it! Both my parents sat me down and had a long discussion with me, but I promised them that I never took a puff of any cigarette. They believed me but grounded me anyway.

When I went back to school the next day, my friend asked me if I brought the cigarette back with me, but since it was gone, and I didn't want to tell him what happened with my parents, I told him I already smoked it.

He wanted to invite me to smoke cigarettes with him and the group after school, but I told him that first cigarette made me cough so much and so hard that I didn't think I wanted to smoke cigarettes anymore.

The strange thing now is that I'm more curious than ever about taking a puff of a cigarette to see what it's like. Yet I know my parents will go crazy if they find out I've actually been smoking or if my clothes smell like smoke. So I think I'm not going to try one after all of this. My friends keep asking me to go out and smoke with them, so how can I get them to leave me alone about this issue? — I Got Caught but Never Smoked It, via email

I GOT CAUGHT BUT NEVER SMOKED IT: You're actually very lucky with how all the circumstances worked out for you. Two adults in a row had perfect timing to keep you from potentially beginning a lifetime of smoking.

As far as your curiosity goes, we're all curious about many things in life without actually feeling the need to take dangerous risks. Taking unknown pills, injecting drugs such as heroin or driving an automobile at extremely high speeds may sound worth trying just once, but trust me, they are not.

Consider yourself very lucky that fate twice intervened to stop you, and view that as a sign that you avoided a potential pitfall in your life. And as far as your friends go, now is the time for you to stand up for yourself and not cave in to peer pressure. Stick with the line "one cigarette was enough for me." This is actually a true statement, since that one cigarette triggered strife for you at home, but in the big picture, I feel it was well worth it — if it keeps you from a potential lifetime of becoming a smoker.

I WANT TO DONATE THIS GIFT!

DR. WALLACE: My father is significantly older than my mother, and he has a much older sister who is a nice lady but is out of touch with today's fashion.

This aunt recently gave me a dress as a birthday present, but it's all wrong for me! It's not my color, and even though the size is correct, it's an old style that I wouldn't be caught wearing to school or in public with my friends.

I told my mom that I wanted to donate it to charity, but she told me not to do that. She said that my aunt may visit us from time to time, and if the subject of the dress ever should come up, it'd be available in my room.

I think my mom is being worrying too much. Do you think I need to keep this ridiculous dress in my closet for an extended period of time? — I'd Never Wear It, via email.

I'D NEVER WEAR IT: For now, my advice is to appease your mother and hold onto the dress. It shouldn't take up too much room if you put it at the very back of your closet.

If and when you know this elderly aunt is planning to visit your home in the future, you could wear it. Eventually, you can give the dress to a charitable organization of your choice, but I see no need to rush. Learning to appease your elders over relatively trivial matters is a sign of developing maturity. Be strategic: Don't try to fight all the small battles! Spend your energy and leverage on trying to change (or find a reasonable compromise on) something that matters much more to you.

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: Stephen Hocking at Unsplash