DR. WALLACE: Our next-door neighbor is an older lady who seems to spend a lot of time in her backyard. From what I can tell, she's all caught up in feeding wild birds. My mom thinks this is harmless and cute, but my father always says she's wasting her time.

I'm 16, and I'll admit that I can see her backyard clearly from my upstairs window and I can confirm that she sees a lot of beautiful birds with many bright colors. It even looks to me like there are some exact birds that regularly stop by her backyard almost every day, so this means they know this is a regular food source for them. — Curious About This, via email

CURIOUS ABOUT THIS: Both of your parents are of course entitled to their own opinions, but I'll side with your mother on this one. I grew up in the Midwest and have lived in that region on and off several times throughout my lifetime. I've often seen spectacular birds like cardinals, blue jays, robins and orioles that are seen regularly across the Midwest.

The St. Louis Cardinals baseball team is named the Cardinals for a good reason, as are the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays. But beyond the Midwest, all regions of our country provide beautiful, unique and distinct regional birds of all sorts. Next to gardening, wild bird feeding is considered one of our nation's favorite backyard pastimes.

Not only are wild birds spectacular to look at, but many of them sing wonderful chirping songs as well. Each species has its own distinct "tunes."

There is even the National Bird Feeding Society, and it can be accessed online at www.birdfeeding.org. Here you can read about conservation, the best tips and practices to use with this hobby, and there are even some spectacular photos to look at as well. You might want to print out a page or two and take it over to your neighbor one weekend. I'll bet she would enjoy reading the information and will truly appreciate your kind gesture.

WILL THE LOANS BE GONE OR TOO EXPENSIVE IN THE FUTURE?

DR. WALLACE: I'll be a senior at my high school starting next week, and I'm already thinking about going to college once I graduate high school. I was considering applying for a student loan, but with the recent national discussions about this topic, I'm not so sure anymore.

I'm afraid that with all the talk about current student debt forgiveness, they may never forgive any debt again in the future, or even worse, they may make future college students like me pay even more to make up the difference. This all leads me to my next question: How important is it to go to college in order to get a good job? — High School Class of '23 student, via email

HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF '23 STUDENT: It really all depends on your chosen field of study, your interest and your innate skill sets. Taking college courses can certainly help develop your learning and knowledge in key areas. However, not every student who studies in college and obtains a particular degree in a particular field ends up using that exact degree as a portal of entry to their ultimate career path.

It's possible that you could consider vocational schools, as some of these organizations actually cover the cost of tuition without any loans at all being involved. Speak to career counselors this upcoming school year and take the time to survey your fellow students, teachers and even administrators at your high school. The more you can learn the better you can make a qualified decision that will fit your specific desires toward a career path that you would both be interested in and likely to succeed at.

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.

Photo credit: edbo23 at Pixabay