DR. WALLACE: I'm about to graduate from college, and even though I know I should be excited, I can't help but feel envious because it seems like just about every single person I know appears to be ahead of me in life.

Most of my close friends, for example, have already received amazing job offers or been recruited by major companies, but all of my job applications so far have been denied. I worked really hard in college, earned great grades and sacrificed a lot of my social life so that I could devote most of my time to studying, but none of it seems to be paying off for me yet.

How am I supposed to celebrate graduation when I feel like such a failure overall? Yes, I've earned a great degree with excellent grades, but it all feels so hollow to me right now. Help! What can I do about this gnawing feeling I get that I've been working too hard in one place with my head down? I've studied long and hard to earn this degree and so I've kind of put my current social life and future career connections on the proverbial "back burner" while I've roared through each college course I've attended these past few years. What can I do at this point to catch up? — Feel Like I've Missed Out, via email

FEEL LIKE I'VE MISSED OUT: Never forget that you are running your own race by yourself, for yourself and that you have much more control over things than you realize. First and foremost you have control over your attitude. Congratulate yourself; be grateful for your great work ethic and your ability to plow your way through to a college degree with good grades.

You have many options now available in front of you. Do your best to network more both professionally and socially. Be proactive on both fronts, and I think you'll find that sometimes they overlap each other.

Also spend some time in quiet reflection. Now that you've accomplished this incredible goal of an outstanding college degree, what would you like to do with it? Where would you like to be in a year or two, and perhaps more importantly in five years from right now?

Don't feel rushed; take regular blocks of time to sit and think with no time pressure upon you at all. Speak to many people, even those you don't know well but who are on the fringes of your social circle. They may even be family friends near your parents' ages that you have never really spoken with much about their careers and what they do for a living. You'll find there are many people who will be happy to give you suggestions, ideas and even introductions into the various career paths. Something great is likely right around the corner for you, so focus on the excitement you'll feel when just the right opportunity presents itself to you. There are many people who would love to be your current age and in your current position. There's literally a world of possibilities available to you; begin to seek them out and as you do, you'll soon find satisfaction in making progress on your new journey.

THEY MOCK MY MANUAL LABOR

DR. WALLACE: I'm a 19-year-old guy and all the work I've ever done has been manual labor. I have a few friends who hate to do hard physical work, so they laugh at me and tell me I'm nuts to work so hard.

These guys are computer programmers so all they do is sit in front of a computer each day. And from what I can tell, they don't seem to get much exercise either. For example, whenever we play a game of pickup basketball at our local park, they are out of breath and panting hard after 10 minutes of playing.

The funny thing is that I earn just about the same money as they do, since I work in a very specialized factory and I've been trained to handle heavy equipment.

We all went to the same high school, so I'm not going to ditch them as friends, but I'd sure like for them to stop riding me for doing a hard day's work. — Factory Guy, via email

FACTORY GUY: I commend you for working hard at your job. There are all kinds of jobs available in this world, and I say to each his or her own when it comes to which one to select to earn a living.

You can mention to them that you don't need a gym membership as you get your physical workout each day at your job.

Another idea would be to see if they might be able to take a tour of your factory one day so that they could see for themselves just how impressive your workplace is, and what a key role you have within it.

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@thegreatestgift.com. 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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