DR. WALLACE: I'm a guy who just turned 17, and I'll be attending my senior year of high school this upcoming fall. I have a busy social life and I'm doing well in school, so my plans for the future are moving along nicely.

But something interesting happened to me that has left me doubting my initial plans. I was asked to do some volunteer work with some friends.

I not only enjoyed this volunteer work, but I also received a deep internal satisfaction. It was unlike anything else I've ever experienced in my life. This now has me wondering if I should change my overall lifetime goals and consider a different career or even life path. Is this a reasonable or even realistic idea? — Surprised How Good It Felt via email

SURPRISED HOW GOOD IT FELT: First of all: Congratulations. You tried something new, you were generous with your time and efforts and you received rewards that you never expected to feel.

It's fantastic that you've come to this realization at a young age, and you now know that you will enjoy participating in helping others and improving society as you go through your life.

Yes, it's possible that you could dedicate your entire life to volunteer work and service. However, you can still do a tremendous amount of good while holding down the career that you had planned to seek in the first place. As you go through a career, whatever it may be, there will always be opportunities to mentor young people in the business, to help others and society via your efforts and to make your workplace, your clients and society better by the great, honest job that you do each day with integrity.

And if you earn a good salary with your job, you can donate to worthy causes and still use some of your free time away from your main career to participate in volunteer activities to help others.

Think things through carefully, and don't make any immediate decision based on just a few experiences. I feel you would be best served to continue along for now with the path you originally intended to take. At the same time, take meaningful slices of your free time to get involved in further helpful activities. A year or two down this sort of path could provide you with a meaningful foundation on which to make an ultimate decision that is best suited for your future.

MY FATHER WILL PAY — IF I FOLLOW IN HIS FOOTSTEPS

DR. WALLACE: This fall, I'll be attending college for the first time. My father is a business professional, and he very much wants me to follow in his career path footsteps. He feels so strongly about this that he's offered to pay for my books and tuition, my housing and even provide me with a used car — if I simply agree to major in the field in which he has already been quite successful.

This, of course, sounds great to the average person, but the fact is as his daughter, I'm not interested in going into the cutthroat discipline that he works in. I have many other ideas on how I would like my career path to ultimately play out.

I know my father will be disappointed when I announce this decision to him within the next four to six weeks, and I'm already worried about how I'll be able to pay for myself. What do you recommend I do now that summer is underway, but I still have a few months before college starts? — I'll Be Going My Own Way, via email

I'LL BE GOING MY OWN WAY: First of all, I think it would be highly unreasonable of your father to make all of those offers of help and then pull each and every one of them back if you decide to go another direction. He should at least compromise and provide you with some sort of assistance, even if you decide not to follow his preferred career path.

My advice is to be honest with him immediately, as the sooner you let him know this, the longer he will have to think about it. Perhaps would be willing to help you out at least partially this fall. And after you make the announcement to him, immediately seek a job and start saving money to be able to have a cushion for your living expenses and tuition this fall. As your father sees you buckling down to work this summer instead of simply enjoying 100% of the time off you may have available, he may reconsider his original point of view.

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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