DR. WALLACE: I'm a 16-year-old girl who is helping my mom out at our store, which just recently reopened. A nice-looking boy my age walked in the other day, and he told me I was very beautiful. I was surprised, and all I could say was thank you. He walked out of the store a few minutes later, and I never saw him again.

I should have given him my telephone number, but my mind wasn't thinking about that. I can't help it, but I now think about this cute boy every day. I keep volunteering to work at the store with my mom, as I'm hoping he'll stop by and see me again.

I want to see this guy so much that I went to a fortuneteller a few days ago to see what my future will be. But I got bad news, as the fortuneteller told me this particular boy has moved away from our area and I should forget about him. I heard what she said to me, but I simply don't want to accept that. If you include my letter in your column, I'm hoping that maybe, just maybe, he'll read it and contact me at our store. — In Love With a Ghost, via email

IN LOVE WITH A GHOST: You really don't love this boy; you love the idea of a romantic stranger who thinks you're beautiful.

I don't blame you. The moment you experienced was a perfect one from your perspective, and it put the idea of a flawless relationship in your head. There is no such relationship in this world. It's called a fairy tale, and such stories always end up with the young couple living happily ever after. This is the marvelous possibility you are replaying over and over in your mind.

The only part of the fortuneteller's advice that may help was her advice that your best bet is to forget about him and think about dating boys who inhabit the real world. But she might be wrong, as fortunetellers, just like the rest of the human race, are not always accurate.

I wish you the best of luck in your upcoming dating career, and I trust there will be another boy or two who will also tell you that you are very beautiful. The good news is that you are now another day closer to meeting another nice young man who finds you attractive.

SCHOOLS REFLECT SOCIETY

DR. WALLACE: For a school assignment, I read an old, old article in the Wall Street Journal about the problems in public schools in the "old days."

In 1940, talking out of turn, chewing gum, making unwanted noises, running in the halls, cutting in line, littering and violating the dress code were considered to be serious school infractions.

Serious infractions today include drug abuse, alcohol abuse, racism, suicide, rape, murder, robbery and assault. What went wrong with our schools over the past century? — Modern-Day Student, via email (not via a feathered pen and an ink bottle)

MODERN-DAY STUDENT: Well, it's certainly true that a lot has changed since the "feathered pen and ink bottle" days of yesteryear.

Schools in any era generally reflect society. The pace of life here in the 21st century is light-years ahead of what existed back in the 1940s.

When our society finds a way to heal its many "wounds," our schools will be one of the first institutions to show an improvement in student behavior — which is always a subset of the overall behavior exhibited by society.

I believe in optimism over pessimism, so I trust that sometime soon, the rough cycle we are experiencing will reverse and yield progress we can all be proud of. Why? Because we as individuals and as a society, we are always learning, improving and striving to make positive progress. It's human nature to seek better outcomes. And as we do, our schools will benefit.

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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