DR. WALLACE: I'm a college student and have two very good friends I've known since high school. We all played sports together in high school and really got to know one another very well. We all recently turned 21, so we're now adults in every aspect of life here in America.

These guys love to go out to watch college sports and they drink a lot of beer while watching the games. I'm really not into beer, or drinking at all for that matter, so I usually just sip one beer and drink a lot of water. But these guys don't ask for any water as they usually drink about four or five beers each over about three hours of watching sports.

None of us drive, as we use Uber to get back and forth from our dorm rooms to the downtown nightlife district of our college town. None of us ever get behind the wheel after we drink even a sip of alcohol, so at least they are solidly responsible in that regard.

I feel awkward as I take my studies very seriously, and therefore, I don't like to drink as I study at least an hour or two every single day or night. These guys are both great friends, so I don't want to stop socializing with them, but I feel uncomfortable trying to nurse a single beer over several hours. At some point it becomes warm and tastes soggy and unappealing to say the least. What can I do about this situation? — Drinking Beer Is Not My Scene, via email

DRINKING BEER IS NOT MY SCENE: Continue to hang out with your good friends, but stop drinking beer with them entirely. I recommend that you do not drink even one beer if you really don't want it. In the past, both of your friends have seen you stop at one beer every time you go out with them, so dropping down to zero beers is not going to make much of a difference to them.

You'll feel more comfortable, in control of yourself and you'll save money as a bonus as well. You can stay true to yourself and be fresh to study any time of the day or night. Focus on enjoying the games you all came to watch and the conversation with your friends instead of how much warm beer you are alternately trying to keep in your glass and sipping in soggy slugs in a faux effort to fit in. I trust you'll remain great friends with each of them whether or not you drink any more beer with them.

I HAVE A BFF, BUT NOW I FEEL LIKE A STRANGER!

DR. WALLACE: I have a great BFF and we've been super close for seven years now. We're both 18 and freshman college students. We two girls are used to doing almost everything together and we usually hang out several nights a week.

That is, until she met a guy she's fallen head over heels about. She had a few boyfriends when we were back in high school, but I've never seen her captivated like this. My issue is that I barely see her at all anymore! We don't have any classes in common, both by design and because we have different majors.

I don't want to lose her as a friend, but I'm about ready to seek out a new best friend since it could be that she'll never have much free time for me again. What can I do about this? — I Feel Like a Stranger to Her, via email

I FEEL LIKE A STRANGER TO HER: Don't give up on her! Romantic relationships tend to ebb and flow, especially at your age (and hers). Realize that although her time and attention is fully focused on her new guy, there could come a time in the next few weeks or months when she could come crying on your shoulder seeking solace, for example.

Keep in loose contact with her and check in via texts or social media messages regularly. Ask her how the relationship is going and wish her luck.

Then in the meantime, do socialize with a few potential new friends, but always remember that you have a solid seven-year friendship waiting in the wings that will likely blossom again soon in some form.

It's always great to give your very best friends space and the benefit of the doubt when they need it. Stay ready to re-engage with her whenever mutually suitable. If her relationship ends or turns downward, you're likely the very first person she will want to speak with. And if her current fledgling romance somehow blossoms into an engagement someday, you are in line to be an inside participant in her big day, likely as the maid of honor, so I recommend that you remain patient with her at this time.

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: Jonas Jacobsson at Unsplash