Dear Diana,

I've been seeing this guy for about two weeks now. He seems like a good guy and I'd like it to work out for us. Unfortunately, I am not very good at judging people's characters and about knowing how they are deep down. I guess it sounds daft, but I am an only child with a small circle of family and friends.

Although it is not an excuse, I believe it is not too late to learn how to figure out what a person is really like. Moreover, I would like to know if there is a "method" as I would either like our relationship to work out (or fail) knowing that I have done my best and could have done no more. Please help.

Name withheld



Dear Friend,

Life is filled with experiencesu00a0 both good and bad. You can take a lot from those experiences and learn from mistakes, should you make any. No one is perfect and you are meant to make mistakes so you can learn and gain experience from them.

And however much you may be protected, if anythign bad has to happen to you, it will. One can never know for sure if or how a relationship will work out. You just have to do your best to make it work and hope and pray that it does. Of course, if you make yourself miserable over it, you will never find the time to enjoy it, in the first place. Go with the flow!

Am attracted to older guys now...

Dear Diana,

I'm a 17-year-old girl and tend to find myself attracted to men in their late 20s and early 30s. My whole life I've been told if I date an older man now, and later get into a relationship with a man my own age, it will really screw with my head. Your thoughts?