Readers, please send your letters. They can be emails, formal letters or handwritten notes. They are edited solely for grammar and spelling. Also, they are sometimes edited for length.
Dear Doctor Love,
Ever since I was young I hated making mistakes. By the time I finished high school this had hurt me a lot. If I had to do a paper or a report it had to be perfect and it slowed me down. Now I am out of school and working and it is hurting me worse. I find myself taking longer than other people that do the same job. Nobody seems to care if it is perfect or not but I just can’t let it go. What can I do?
/s/ Not Perfect
Dear Not Perfect,
You have already taken that first step of recognizing that you have a problem. This is often the hardest part of changing. The next step is even more important. You need professional counseling and this step is even more important.
Dear Doctor Love,
I am in love with a girl but at the same time I am in love with my ex- fiancé. She is going to college on the mainland and the other one is still here on the island. My ex gf and I have been together for a long time and we once had plans to get married. She has been gone now for two years and the only time we see each other is in the summer and on holidays. We finally decided we weren’t going to be engaged and that we would date different people. When we are together everything is like it was before she left. This is starting to drive me crazy because this girl I am in love with here loves me unconditionally and would do anything I asked her. I hate to see her hurt every time my ex-fiancé comes to town. What can I do to solve this?
/s/ Big Problem
Dear Problem,
It is good to know there are still some guys out there with a conscience. It proves that you are human.
The problem seems to be that everything is too easy with you and your ex-fiancé. The only difficulty you seem to have is that the two of you don’t see each other as often as you want. You are obviously attracted to two different people for completely different reasons. If you are going to be fair about it you need to choose one or the other and stick to it. Here is one clue about the situation. One of these girls has proved she will do anything for you, including wait. Girls like this are hard to find.