DR. WALLACE: I'm a 20-year-old young lady and I'd like to give some advice to teen girls thinking about using sex to get guys to like them more.

When I was a teen, I was dating a guy I really cared for. Then one night he told me that if I really and truly loved him, I would go all the way.

Well, I did, and I wound up pregnant and without a boyfriend. To show me how much he cared for me, he dumped me and claimed that he was not the father. I was totally crushed by his actions.

After the humiliating and painful experience of telling my parents, I went through an even more painful experience — an abortion. The physical pain was bad, but the emotional scars are still haunting me.

Girls, please listen to a teen who has been there. Sex is not a game. You should save yourself for your husband. If a guy tries to pressure you into having sex by using that age-old cliche, "If you really love me you will have sex with me," tell him, "If you really love me you won't ask" — and really mean it! — Still Sorry, Green Bay, Wis.

STILL SORRY: Thanks for sharing! I have the correspondence from many young ladies who found out too late that premarital sex does not enhance a relationship; it destroys it!

ENCOURAGE MOTHER TO REACH HER GOAL

DR. WALLACE: I'm 19 and in my second year at the University of Michigan. My major is pre-law. I plan to be an attorney and practice law with my father's firm in Detroit.

My brother is also going to become an attorney. He's in graduate school at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He is married and his wife is already an attorney. That means that only my mother is not into law. She met my dad at Michigan State University. They were married after my mother's first year at the University and my dad's second year. My dad went on to earn his law degree, but my mom became a housewife at the young age of 19.

Now mom has decided that she wants to enroll at the University of Detroit and get her degree so she can become a teacher at an elementary school. Mom is 45 now and if she gets her Michigan teaching credential it will take about four more years even with the year's credit at Michigan State University. That means she will start teaching at the ripe of age of almost 50. Who is going to hire a 50-year-old first-year teacher? I doubt anyone will.

My brother is encouraging mom to "go for it" while my dad is neutral. I'm not against mom taking university courses to keep her mind sharp, but the pressure of teaching is out of the question.

What do you think? — Angie, Detroit, Mich.

ANGIE: As a former school administrator, I can assure you that I would offer your mother a teaching contract if she met all of the requirements. She would have at least 20 wonderful years to teach and guide eager children.

You should be encouraging mother to reach her goal! Adopt your brother's "go for it" philosophy and encourage dad to join you.

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.