DR. WALLACE: I'm a girl who is 17, and I've just had a new experience in life that I never saw coming: I was just dumped by my boyfriend! I thought our relationship was going fine over these past three months, but out of nowhere he told me this past weekend that he did not want to date me exclusively anymore. I asked him if he had another girl he was going to date right away, but he said no, and I do believe him because he's honest to a fault.

I now feel like damaged goods, and I don't think I'll ever be able to go out on a date again! My self-esteem has really taken a hit, especially since I did not see this coming at all. And now I spend a lot of time trying to think about what it is about me that he does not like.

How can I overcome these terrible feelings I'm experiencing? I know logically that not every relationship works out in the long run, but now that mine has evaporated, I'm really feeling down and blue. — Sad and Embarrassed, via email

SAD AND EMBARRASSED: It's fine to feel sad that your relationship has ended, but there is no reason to feel embarrassed. Relationships start and end for a wide variety of reasons, and well over 90% of the population goes through the loss of a relationship at some point in life in the manner that you are currently experiencing.

It may help to think of interpersonal relationships as a subset of a large jigsaw puzzle. Some pieces fit together perfectly, and others are obviously not a fit. But then some appear to be fit at first, but upon closer study, the pieces, through no individual fault of their own, just don't truly fit together after all.

Take a little time to catch your breath and think about what you learned from this relationship and what you enjoyed about it. This will help you going forward when the time comes. Remember, it's always best to move on from an irregular fit so that you can be one step and one day closer to finding the perfect fit that you deserve. I trust that you will eventually find your fit, and when you do, this past relationship will be but a mild memory of your early days in the dating world.

I'M VERY SAD TO LEARN SHE'S LEAVING

DR. WALLACE: My best friend just dropped some devastating news on me. We both attend the same high school and we had planned to attend the same college starting next September.

But now I just found out that my best friend in the entire world is going to be attending a college on the West Coast almost 2,000 miles from here. We girls have been best friends ever since we were in the fifth grade together, so even though we're still high school students now, I'm already experiencing this deep-rooted sense of dread, and I've actually even calculated exactly how many days I have left to hang out with her.

How can I ever adjust to not being able to see my best friend several days a week? — One Sad Best Friend, via email

ONE SAD BEST FRIEND: You will definitely face a period of adjustment when your best friend leaves to attend college on the West Coast, but the two of you will still be able to share the news about your lives together once she moves.

And it could be that she'll occasionally return to her hometown on school breaks, holidays and possibly over parts of the summers she has off.

In the meantime, do discuss your upcoming separation with her and ask her how she feels you girls should best keep in touch. Give her a great "going away" party if you can, and take the remaining time you now have over this school year and this upcoming summer to spend some great time with her doing things the two of you truly enjoy.

The great news in your case is that strong friendships often last a lifetime, and it sounds to me that your connection with her will transcend the distance that will be between you during the college years you'll be mostly spending apart.

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.