You think you're the only girl that's not into dancing and "having fun." You think that everyone will stare at you and talk about how bad of a dancer you are. You wonder how all these other girls have so much confidence to have such a good time in front of all these people. I know you. I know exactly who you are and I know exactly what you need to hear. If you are the type of girl I think you are, you probably won't listen to me until you're well past high school. You'll look back and say "Ya know, that one time when I read that Odyssey article, well, that person was totally right."

Please heed my advice sooner than later. Love yourself. Stop caring about what people think of you. Honestly, after graduation, none of this matters anymore. Every person in here will be going on to try to make something of themselves. Chances are, even the people you have gone to school with since you were 5 years old probably won't even say "hi" to you when you pass them on campus or in a store in town. I know what you're thinking, "well, that's really sad and depressing." Well, hate to break it to you, but it's true.

After high school people change. People you thought were you're friends will act like they don't know you. You'll make new friends. You'll make friends that are so great, you question what you did to deserve such good people in your life. You will find people who will love you no matter what you do, people who embrace your differences and who will encourage you to act crazy, even when it's out of your comfort zone. You'll dance in public for the first time with them and you will realize why everyone loves it. You will understand what's so fun about acting crazy and letting loose. You will learn how to appreciate yourself and your quirky qualities. I promise.

I was you. I was the girl that didn't dance at prom because I was too afraid to be looked at and laughed at. I was too scared that my friends would make fun of me and people I didn't even know would laugh at me. That is so untrue. At prom, nobody cares what you are doing but you. Looking back you won't say "Darn, I really wish I would've sat at a table by myself at prom more." You will say "I wish I would've loved myself enough to not care about anyone else and dance like I was alone." Love yourself and please stop caring about what others think. Have fun, regardless of what that means for you-that's something you won't regret.