DR. WALLACE: I'm a teenage girl who wants to get some piercings. I won't turn 18 for a year and a half, so I don't have as much control over this as I would like.

There are various areas of my face and body I'd like to get pierced, but my mother will only let me pierce my ears! She said I could pierce them as many times as I want, including a bar on the upper part of my ear.

But I'd also like a nose ring and a few other things. Several of my friends have them, and they look awesome! How can I convince my mom to let me blend in with them? — It's My Body After All, via email

IT'S MY BODY AFTER ALL: Due to your age, you're fortunate that your mother is allowing you as much leeway as you're getting. You, of course, know that the day you turn 18, you can pierce away as much as you would like, wherever you would prefer.

But for now, you have to live by your mother's rules, irrespective of what piercings your friends have. The good news is you'll have a year and a half to save up your money to afford any cosmetic adjustments, wardrobe, additions or other elements that may help you present the appearance you desire.

MY BROTHER IS HOPELESSLY IMMATURE!

DR. WALLACE: My older brother is a nut! He's 19 and has only been on a few dates in his entire life. He's a decent guy, but he's tremendously shy. I'm his outgoing 17-year-old younger sister, and I have lots of friends. I've been dating steadily since the day I turned 16, and I've enjoyed my social life immensely.

I just heard my brother tell me that he put a rose in a note on the car of one of his coworkers at the restaurant where he works. I asked him what happened, and he said nothing! He said that the next day, when she came into the restaurant, she said nothing. A few days went by, and he started to wonder if it had fallen off her car or somebody had removed it! But he said that he put it on her car about 30 minutes before she was going to leave her shift last weekend, so I'm thinking she got it, but just didn't know who it was from. Now my brother wants advice on what to do from here. What do I tell him? — My Older Brother is Immature, via email

MY OLDER BROTHER IS IMMATURE: Well, I don't necessarily equate shyness with immaturity, as you apparently do. Shy people usually have a bit of fragility regarding their self-confidence, and they also fear rejection.

This is what likely led your brother to leave an anonymous note with the flower. He was probably hoping for a discussion to become initiated at his restaurant, which would have allowed him to then tell her he was her admirer.

My advice is to tell your brother to get another identical flower, save it until the end of one of his shifts and then give it to her directly and confess that he was a bit shy to hand it to her directly the first time, but that he wanted to give it to her directly the second time! From there, nature will take its course in terms of if the two of them may or may not be compatible as friends or potential dating partners. If he can do this, it will mark progress for him versus leaving anonymous notes and flowers on vehicles.

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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