Coleen says

IF ONLY there was a mathematical formula for it, eh? But there isn’t – it all starts from talking to someone and finding out if you have stuff in common, and if there’s a spark there.

Perhaps because you’ve been so focused on your studies your social life has suffered and you simply need to get back out there, meeting people and rebuilding your confidence. You’re a young guy with a lot to offer and, while I appreciate you’re desperate to find a girlfriend, there really is no rush when you’re 22.

No doubt you’ll have several girlfriends before you meet someone really special who you want to settle down with. But you’ll have a lot of fun and learn a lot along the way.

Never go out looking for a girlfriend – just go out with the intention of having fun and meeting new people.

And, if you haven’t already done so, try dating apps and sites, too.

I’D LIKE to respond to the woman whose sevenyear-old daughter is having trouble with a friend at school (Dear Coleen, Oct 30).

The same thing happened to my daughter when she was in primary school. I didn’t go to the teacher or mother, but spoke to the girls involved themselves.

I told them that if they didn’t want to be friends any more that was fine, but not to be unkind because it was making my little girl very unhappy.

I said I knew that they were all nice girls and if they knew how my daughter was feeling they wouldn’t want to do it.

They said how sorry they were and they have been firm friends ever since – and they’re all 50 now! EF