Timpview High senior Chris Gong, 18, is a contributing writer for YM, a national magazine targeted at teenage girls with a readership of 3 million. Gong writes for the "Wise Guys," a question and answer column about love and relationships from the male perspective. A sampling of Gong's advice follows.
JANUARY 2004
Are guys afraid of girls with muscles?
CHRIS: "Unless you're a steroid-abusing power lifter who has a bear and sings bass, your biceps shouldn't be a problem for most guys. But there are some who fear dating girls who are stronger, smarter or more talented than themselves . . . No loss for you, because you'll go further without people like this around."
FEBRUARY 2004
My boyfriend says if I break up with him, he'll kill himself. What should I do?
CHRIS: "If he really is suicidal, his problems go a beyond a breakup. Don't feel guilty about getting out and don't try to single-handedly save him. No matter how good your intentions are, it is naive to assume that you can help him the way a professional can. If he is just being dramatic, he's abusing the fact that you are a caring person."
MARCH 2004
A girl keeps on flirting with my boyfriend, and I don't know what I should do. I told the girl to stop, but she hasn't.
CHRIS: "First, you need to talk to your boyfriend. As hard as guys try, we can't read girls' minds. If we don't know there's a problem, there's nothing we can do to fix it."