This is probably the most common, troubling and avoidable problem of all. You can always prevent this prom disaster by never dating a jerk, becoming a nun or staying inside your bedroom forever and having your food delivered through a slot in your door. But if for some reason those things don't work out for you, I'm here to help.

In high school, my good friend Bethany attended her senior prom with a guy who'd just broken up with her the week before the dance. She was heartbroken. The boyfriend, who we'll refer to as Damien, treated her like crap all night and refused to touch her for pictures.

He acted like he was doing her a favor just by showing up, and she was miserable all night. Bethany says she should have just gone with a group of girlfriends.

And now for the irony: I was boyfriendless when my junior prom rolled around so I asked a cute friend-of-a-friend underclassman to go with me, whom I hardly knew. He said yes.

Then I proceeded to worry constantly about it for the next eight weeks until prom. What if we had nothing to talk about? What if he hated me? What if I hated him? When prom night rolled around, I was a mess.

I told my mom I didn't want to go. I cried. I was terrified to spend such an intimate evening with a virtual stranger. But then we were on our way to the hotel in my Dad's Taurus and the conversation flowed freely. He was funny. He was kind. He was cu-ute! At the dance, I got my groove on, and my date was right there beside me. He twirled and dipped me. We laughed. We had a blast. And I had a new friend.