The Teen Survival Guide to Dating & Relating: Real-World Advice on Guys, Girls, Growing Up, and Getting Along

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226 The Teen Survival Guide to Dating and Relating

Dear Worried,

A good advisor can be a wonderful help to a student, suggesting courses, colleges, and

potential careers. Your advisor sounds very busy, and this could explain why you haven’t

gotten the attention you want from him. Don’t worry about his letter of recommendation at

this point, because you have a few more years before you’ll be applying to college. Besides,

your high-school record is going to speak for itself, though it certainly would be nice to get

support from your advisor.

I suggest that you talk to him. You might say, “I feel like I don’t matter much to you, or

maybe you’re getting me mixed up with another kid and that’s why you have trouble remem-

bering my name. I’d like to give you a chance to get to know me better, so we can talk.” Your

advisor will probably appreciate such respectful and direct communication from you. It might

even give you two a new start at forming a relationship.

If, after you’ve talked to him, the situation doesn’t improve, speak to a teacher you trust

about switching advisors. This isn’t unusual, assuming your high school is large enough to

have several advisors.

The important thing is that you let your advisor know how you’re feeling. He may not be

aware of how his behavior is affecting you. If you tell him, you’ll give him a chance to treat

you with more respect and to do his job better. I wish you the best.

In friendship,

Terra

My coach picks on a kid on our team

Hey Terra,

My soccer coach is always picking on this kid on our team. He obviously doesn’t like the kid,

and whenever he gets a chance (like every day at practice), he makes the kid run extra laps

for no reason at all. It’s gotten to be a joke with the other guys, and they tell the kid he should

quit soccer and go out for cross-country or some other sport.

Also, the coach hardly ever lets this kid play, and whenever he does, he yells at him dur-

ing the game and then pulls him out almost immediately. The kid’s not that bad of a player,

but I’m sure he’d be a lot better if he got to play more. Anyway, I think the coach is treating