DR. WALLACE: I am confused. I'm a 16-year-old girl and I have very high moral standards. I'm a virgin and I plan to remain that way until I get married. When dating, I try to stay away from sleazy guys who have nothing but sex on the brain. Every girl knows the sleazy, sex-crazy guys who attend their school by the way they look, dress, walk and who their friends are.

This means I only date clean cut, All-American type guys who attend church and profess to have high moral standards. The last three guys I've gone out with fit the All-American look. But guess what? All three had nothing but sex on their brains. I dated one of the guys twice and the other two only once. To make things more confusing, one of them attends my church and his mother teaches our Sunday School class.

I started losing faith in all guys until my cousin convinced me to go out with her boyfriend's best friend, who would appear to be in the sleazy category. I was prepared to be in a wrestling match with this guy, but he was a total gentleman. We have been dating for more than a month and he has never attempted to put a sexual move on me. I really like him a lot, and I know he likes and respects me. Go figure! — Nameless, Detroit, Mich.

NAMELESS: First impressions are important, but as Dr. Martin Luther King once said, "People should be judged by the content of their character." And as another old saying goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover."

GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE

DR. WALLACE: My boyfriend broke up with me last week and it came as a complete surprise. When I asked him why, he told me it didn't matter why, it only mattered that we were breaking up. Yesterday, I called and asked him why he broke up with me and, again, he wouldn't tell me.

At first I was upset. Now I'm mad. I feel I should know why he ended our relationship. If it was because I have a flaw in my character, I'd like to know so I can correct it. Even if I don't have a flaw, I'd still like to know the reason and I'm not going to give up until I do. My sister thinks I should just forget it and go on with my life, but I can't go on with my life until I learn the reason. Whose side are you on? — Angry, Toledo, Ohio.

ANGRY: I totally understand your frustration, but I think you should take your sister's advice. I think your ex should have given you some explanation for breaking up with you and understand how distressed you must feel that he didn't. But happiness and success in love are not a matter of correcting "character flaws." Keep on being yourself — and get on with your life.

PARENTS SHOULD COUNT THEIR BLESSINGS

DR. WALLACE: I'm responding to the parents of the 17-year-old girl who are furious at the thought of her deserting her religious faith and embracing the faith of her boyfriend. I suggest that they should count their blessings. Our son is living with his girlfriend and they have a son in this non-wedded union. Church, any church, is unheard of, and they neither one attend one. - Father, Newark, N.J.

FATHER: One person's "problem" is often another person's fervent hope. Thanks for shedding a different light on a potentially volatile family concern.

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.