DR. WALLACE: I know these days that many people float in and out of relationships, and even marriages, at what seems to be an ever-increasing rate.

I'm only 19 and already I know of several couples who have parted abruptly, including three who were married. They all are personal friends of my older siblings.

But as an optimist, I'm happy to report that my grandparents on my mother's side just celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary! They've told me their secrets to success and I can sum it up this way: "The grass is not always greener on the other side of the hill," and "Be patient, flexible and communicate honestly about everything, and we mean everything!"

They are my role models, and when the time comes for me to be married, I can only hope to have the kind of success they have enjoyed for over six decades. Do you agree with their advice? — Their Favorite Granddaughter, via email

THEIR FAVORITE GRANDDAUGHTER: I can understand why you're their favorite! Taking an interest in them and spending time to get to know them really well and absorb their decades of wisdom shows good family, cohesiveness and intelligence on your part.

I agree wholeheartedly with her advice, and would add that being willing to compromise, seeking to always put the other person in the best possible light in all matters, public and private, and keeping your focus on the big picture rather than any day that there's issues have been a key for my wife and I to enjoy our long marriage as well.

When the time comes for you to marry, our readers and my wife and I will all be rooting for you and your spouse to enjoy a long and rewarding union.

IT'S A NEW SCHOOL YEAR AND I'M IN THE SAME OLD TROUBLE

DR. WALLACE: It's a new school year and I'm already getting into trouble on my high school campus again. I'm a sophomore this year, and the hijinks I created as a freshman have seemingly carried over into this new school year.

I often pull a lot of pranks on different students and do some things that upset people. Inevitably, somebody turns me in to the school administration, and I end up meeting with one of the vice principals or our school principal. The last time this happened (last week), the VP that I met with told me to think carefully about what might be triggering my poor behavior.

Believe it or not, when I went home this past weekend I actually did sit down and think about it quite a bit. For some reason, I feel the need to act out at school, probably because I get a lot of attention when it happens even if there are consequences.

I haven't done anything so severe that I will become suspended or anything like that, but I'm definitely on everyone's radar as someone who could cause minor trouble at any moment.

Thinking about things more in depth, I think it might be because my parents, especially my father, don't pay much attention to me. They both work very busy jobs, and I have three siblings who have never caused any trouble at all.

At my home, it seems nobody has much time for me, so I get bored and feel lonesome a lot. Could this perhaps be tied to the reason I often feel the need to act out at school? — Regularly in Trouble, via email

REGULARLY IN TROUBLE: It's entirely possible that the two elements you've mentioned could be connected. Your situation is not unique as I often hear from teens who have busy parents who do seem to interact much with their teenagers.

My usual advice here can be amended to deal with your particular situation. Since you're not receiving positive feedback and attention at home, seek to receive positive feedback in other areas of your life, rather than drawing attention for doing negative things.

Perhaps you could take some of your free time and look up various volunteer organizations who could use help in your local community. Pick one that you feel interested in and go down and meet the people there. I trust you'll find people at these types of organizations to be sincere, welcoming and open to meeting new people who are happy to help. In this kind of environment, you are likely to obtain positive feedback and feel good about yourself regarding the things you're doing.

And once you've spent some time there and gotten to know different people, approach someone you trust and explain that you might like to have a mentor who could help guide you in various parts of your life beyond just the volunteer work you're doing.

In addition to volunteer organizations, you could try to do the same with one of your counselors at your high school. If you are brave enough to choose this route, and are sincere in your request, you will likely be surprised in a positive way at the feedback you are likely to receive. Trust me, school administrators would much rather encourage the students on their campus than discipline them.

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: Oziel Gómez at Unsplash