Q - Dear Annabelle, I had a boyfriend for 61/2 months last year. It was both of our first relationships. I got restless and he was 18 and headed to college, plus while my parents adored him, my 3 sisters hated his guts. We decided to break up. Since then I've dated a couple of people but none of them made me feel like he did. Lately he and I have been talking and I think we're headed towards a second chance. I just haven't figured out what to do about my sisters' hatred for him. A - Dear Jane, You donāt say whether your sisters are older, younger, or a mixture, but, in this life, when YOU have a friend, it is YOU who has the friend. Since I donāt know more, and I DO know that youāre 16, as do you, then what I DO know is that he is, for the very long foreseeable future, just a Īfriendā. Since you are too shy, by about ten years, of marriageable age, how you conduct yourself now, your focus on your studies and your development of your passion for learning in life may, in fact, keep him interested for all of those 10 years. While thatās not likely, and since this relationship isnāt a matter of life-and-death, then you have time to relax, to be your best self, and practice how to be interested in and interesting to, a member of the opposite sex. All of this is a very necessary part of your development. I am somewhat surprised that your parents find a fellow whoās two years older than you, and in college to be a suitable companion. I would hope that they insist on fully chaperoned, (yes, donāt laugh, thatās important), visits with no truly alone time where you might be tempted to do things not in your best future interests. ĪReal lifeā is long and, should you be in a position to give in to what a Īcollege manā might like you to give in to...and do be aware that IS whatās on his mind......you would not be doing yourself a service. Young people, without intense interests in their lives and futures will often attach to a more Īworldlyā other and call it Īloveā. What do you do about your sisters? I donāt know. Itās rude to make unkind remarks in any situation. May I assume that they havenāt been as gently raised as you? - Annabelle