Nicky's Boyfriend Is Now ‘Fair Game'

DR. WALLACE: Nicky, Erin, Cynthia and I were very good friends. Nicky has a boyfriend, and Cynthia danced with him at an after-school dance. Nicky and Cynthia had a major fall-out over it. Nicky told Erin and I to stop being friends with Cynthia and to never speak to her again. Erin said that she would drop Cynthia as a friend, but I said that I wouldn't do that. Now Nicky and Erin don't speak to Cynthia and me. I don't mind that, but I do mind that they are spreading nasty rumors about us. A lot of our schoolmates are asking us if what they heard about us was true. Of course, we say no, but this still hurts.

Cynthia and I are actually more popular than the two troublemakers, and she wants us to start more dramatic rumors about them because our classmates would really believe us. I don't like this idea. I think things will die down soon and our classmates will know that the gossip wasn't just a bunch of rumors — it was a bunch of lies. Do you agree with me? Also, Cynthia is going after Nicky's boyfriend big-time and she will get him. - Debra, Houston, Texas

DEBRA: Yes, I agree. A teenager is an excellent judge of character. It won't be long before your classmates realize that the rumors are not true. Telling lies about your ex-friends would mean that you had stooped to their level. Never allow this to happen. Now that Nicky and Cynthia are no longer friends, Nicky's boyfriend is "fair game"!

MARK DIDN'T REACH HIS GOAL BUT...

DR. WALLACE: I know that you encourage teens to set goals and after the goals are achieved, to set new goals. What happens to the guy who is slow, can't jump and can't shoot, but wants to be a college All-American basketball player, play professional basketball and make huge bucks? - Kyle, Erie, Penn.

KYLE: Goals should be set that can be attained. Once a goal is deemed unattainable, it should be downsized or scrapped completely and a more realistic goal set. The guy who is slow, can't jump or shoot, but wanted to play professional basketball and make big bucks might want to read the autobiography of Mark Cuban. Cuban loved basketball, but knew that he didn't have the physical skills to become a college star, thus he would be prevented from becoming a professional player.

Instead, he turned to the dot-com field and co-founded Broadcast.com and then sold it to Yahoo in 1999. In January of 2006, he bought the National Basketball Association Dallas Mavericks at a relatively young age, 36. Mark didn't reach his goal of playing professional basketball, but after downsizing his goal, he wasn't depressed too much. In 2011, the Dallas Mavericks won the National Basketball Association World Championship!

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 rwallace@galesburg.net. 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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