DR. WALLACE: I'm a mature senior in high school, and my boyfriend is a first-year college student. He wants me to attend a fraternity party in two weeks on his college campus.

I thought this was no big deal, so I asked my parents for permission to attend this party, but my father turned me down flatly and without discussion! We had just finished our family dinner when I asked, so it was not too late to at least discuss the pros and cons of my request. All he did say was that "no daughter of his under the age of 18 would be attending an on-campus party anywhere in America!"

Now I feel like I made a big mistake by even asking for permission since my parents are now aware of the function and the specific date it's being held.

What really eats at me is that I'll turn 18 in less than three months anyhow and be able to control my own decision-making function. How can I get my father to let me attend this party? Do you feel as I do that he's being unreasonable? My mother did not weigh in much at all on this issue, so the person I must convince is my dad. — I Shouldn't Have Asked, via email

I SHOULDN'T HAVE ASKED: Since you're 17 and living with your parents under their roof, you need to follow their rules.

Your father has the right to make his own decision, but I feel he missed an opportunity to at least discuss the matter earnestly with you before rendering his final decision. Simply blurting out the comment you quoted was not the best way to proceed in my opinion, but the decision is indeed his and your mothers to make.

I suggest you lay low for a while until you turn 18, and even then, try to make your own decisions in the most symbiotic and friction-free manner you can. You'll likely still be living under his roof, so seek a balance to your decision-making that can be palatable to everyone until you're eventually living in your own place as an adult.

Lastly, I feel you did the right thing by asking for permission, even if you didn't like the answer you received. Deceiving your parents is not a wise strategy, especially since you're so close to turning 18 and gaining at least some decision-making leverage in the near future.

I'M SO TALL THAT MY MOM GAVE ME A NICKNAME

DR. WALLACE: I'm a boy who is 14 now and I'm by far the tallest person in my class. I don't play any sports, so my height does not help me there, and in fact I wish I was not so far ahead of everybody else!

I stick out quite obviously and it makes me feel self-conscious. How long do you think it will take for at least a few of the other boys to at least get into the same general height range that I'm currently in?

I figure if there were a few others at least near my height, I'd feel less worried about it. My mother even nicknamed me "Sky Billy." — Sky Billy, via email

SKY BILLY: Yours is the rare letter I receive about worrying about being too tall. I receive several dozen letters a year from both teen boys and girls who complain about being too short.

In your case, I trust that you'll soon have a few classmates begin to at least catch up with you a bit in terms of height. And then when you go to high school as a freshman, you'll find that there will be several tall boys there, especially ones in their junior or senior year of high school.

You did not mention your specific height, but I can tell you that being a bit taller than average has more benefits than drawbacks for most tall people. However, there are exceptions, and I can certainly understand how and why you currently feel uncomfortable about your present height.

Hang in there, as I trust you'll be in the presence of other similarly tall students in the near future.

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.

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