DR. WALLACE: I've always been quiet at my high school. I've never really said much to fellow students or interacted socially with many others in a regular way. I just finished my freshman year, and I'm enjoying the summer and looking forward to my sophomore year.

I was thinking about school the other day, and I actually feel better about it. When the new school year starts, I'm already familiar with high school, I know what the teachers in classes are going to be like, allowing me to feel more relaxed than I did last year.

So now I'm wondering how I could aim to be cooler and more sociable during this next school year? Do I need to wear some special type of clothes or act in a certain manner? I'd like to meet more fellow students and hopefully gain self-confidence. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be pretentious or arrogant in any way, I just want to be what I call "comfortably cool."

Can you provide me with suggestions in this regard? — Looking to Make Changes, via email

LOOKING TO MAKE CHANGES: Instead of feeling you must dress up in a certain way or make wholesale changes to your own style and personality, my advice is to slowly, but surely, begin engaging with your fellow students on a regular basis.

Simply speak to a lot of people you may know only casually or perhaps not at all. Smile and say, "Hello, good morning, good afternoon," and so forth. Become really comfortable with speaking to anyone at any time.

Once you get to know a few people a little bit better, ask them about their interests, compliment them on anything you notice about them that looks sharp, interesting or nice.

One of the best ways to be so-called "cool" is to simply be a person others enjoy being around. By showing an interest in other students, and speaking to them about their likes or some of the things you feel are nice about them, you should be in a relaxed comfort zone of quality conversations.

This intern will boost your self-esteem, and you can even ask for suggestions about your address and style once you become more comfortable with a few casual friends. All of this added together is what I believe you are truly seeking.

I'M NERVOUS AFTER ALL THESE YEARS

DR. WALLACE: I'm no longer between the ages of 12 and 20 myself, but I have three grandchildren who are! I see how they interact during their daily life, and all readily admit it's light years away from the teenage years I experienced decades ago.

I recently reached out to some friends in my hometown on the other side of the country, and they happened to mention that our high school is creating what I call a "geriatric reunion" later this summer.

On the one hand, I'm interested in attending, but on the other hand, I'm not sure exactly what I would do and say to people I haven't seen in a really, really long time. My natural instinct is to feel intimidated and feel that others will be full of adventures and successes beyond those that I personally experienced. I've had a pretty good career overall as an artist and an art professor, and I've enjoyed my journey through life, even if I didn't set the corporate world on fire in my prime working years. I even still paint when the mood strikes.

Do you have any advice for me as to whether or not I should attend this event, and if I do what I should say upon arrival there? — Unsure of My Positioning, via email

UNSURE OF MY POSITIONING: Life is an adventure to be enjoyed and experienced, so I heartily encourage you to attend your multi-decades reunion if you can make it.

You have much to be proud of and are quite successful in your own right. It sounds to me like you've lived a full, productive and enjoyable life, and are continuing to do so daily.

My first bit of advice is to practice your "elevator speech" in advance, which should be no more than 20 to 30 seconds long. Simply outline what you've done, how much you enjoyed it, and smile in a relaxed way the entire time you're explaining your history to any of your fellow classmates.

Then promptly turn to ask them how they're doing and how much they're enjoying getting together with all of their old classmates this late in life! Don't forget, several of them will also be having anxious feelings, exactly in line with those that you have mentioned. There's no need to try to impress anyone for the sake of vanity, so be yourself and talk about the old days in terms of any activities, events, or even the high school grounds you attended, if they still exist today.

I suspect that if you can attend this event, you'll more than hold your own, as there are large percentages of people who truly enjoy the arts, and you'll no doubt have a lot of interesting questions asked of you regarding your background. Go for it and enjoy it!

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.

Photo credit: Joshua Hoehne at Unsplash