DR. WALLACE: Please inform me why teens choose to join a gang. Is it because misery loves company? —ANONYMOUS, Santa Fe, NM.
ANONYMOUS: There are many reasons why teens join gangs, but the prime reason is that the gang offers its members a feeling that they are accepted. Many gang members, for one reason or another, lack self-confidence and have low self-esteem, often due to a poor family life at home — sadly, often not due to any fault of their own. Some gang members were also loners who had a difficult time being accepted socially by their peers.
These teens think that joining a gang will erase all these deficiencies and, hopefully, given a feeling of importance and status. Unfortunately, it also provides some members with the opportunity to destroy their lives and the lives of others when they become overzealous with their newfound "power" and acceptance.
Many illegal acts are committed by gang members who, if not in a gang, would never have committed these acts on their own volition. Peer pressure is exacerbated greatly within a gang for obvious reasons.
CUT BACK ON YOUR ALCOHOL
DR. WALLACE: I'm in my third year of study at a university. I was an honors student in high school and my university grades are excellent. I plan to enter the law profession and then go into politics when I complete all my necessary education.
Recently, I read about a study that found that students with low grade point averages consume more than eleven drinks per week while students with the highest grade point averages consumed four drinks per week or less. I dispute this finding. I have a 3.75 grade point average and I typically enjoy between 14 and 21 beers a week. Many are consumed while doing homework in my dorm room. Does this mean that I would have a better than 3.75 grade point average if I consumed only four beers during a seven-day period?
People and institutions waste a lot of time, energy and money trying to "scientifically" discover what makes humans tick. Would the world be a better place if all this wasted time and money were going to educate, feed, clothe, house and medically aid the poor and the downtrodden? —Drinker who succeeds, via email
DRINKER: I have a better idea about helping the poor and downtrodden that you were so concerned about. Just think of the staggering amount money wasted on drugs, tobacco and yes, liquor. If these wasted funds were directed to those in need, we'd solve the problem of global poverty in a very short time.
It doesn't take a lot of time and money to determine that excessive drinking by college students interferes with studies and causes GPAs to bottom out. There are exceptions to every rule, of course. Congratulations on being lucky enough to be one of the exceptions. You have excellent grades and I wish you success as you pursue your career aims.
If you are really curious whether your grades would be even higher if you cut back sharply on your drinking, why don't you try it? My fear is that you can't. Anyone who puts away as much alcohol as you do on a weekly basis is likely already addicted to it and likely headed for trouble down the road, perhaps in midlife. I hope you remain an exception your whole life, but I do suggest you really give my idea a try for a semester or two to see how you perform, and more importantly, feel. You will at least reap some health benefits by giving it a try.
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. E-mail 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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