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"If you thought people weren&amp;#x27;t going to question you and make you feel bad about being single until you were at least 30, think again. That crap starts early. Amanda Dougherty, a 17-year-old girl at a Catholic school in Pennsylvania, has reportedly been told by the Archdiocese that she cannot attend her prom&amp;amp;#133;.because she doesn&amp;amp;#8217;t have a date. Wait, what? She didn&amp;amp;#8217;t break any rules or cause any problems? Nope, just going solo. Making matters even worse, she was all ready for the prom, with a date, a dress, tickets and plans with friends, when her date canceled on her earlier this week. Then she was told by school officials that she could not go to the prom next Friday without a date. The whole thing is so sad and infuriating I want to cry. In an incredibly mature statement, Dougherty said: &amp;amp;#8220;For them to say we&amp;amp;#8217;re not good enough to go unless we have a guy standing next to us, it&amp;amp;#8217;s just kind of sickening.&amp;amp;#8221; Absolutely. The Archdiocese released a statement in which they say &amp;amp;#8220;Our high schools offer numerous dances and events throughout the year where dates are not required, but we view the prom as a special social event where a date is required to attend.&amp;amp;#8221; Right. Because it&amp;#x27;s important we started spreading the message early that you just aren&amp;#x27;t worthy of the special things in life if you don&amp;#x27;t have a partner. Ugghhh. You guys, I am having nightmarish high school flashbacks. I went to both my proms alone (and yes, I felt angst-y about it at the time). As an adult, I&amp;#x27;m happy I did because I ended up having a great time with my friends, and now I have the silly but significant memory of going to prom. It would have been so horrifying to be singled out (pun intended) and not allowed to go. Teenagers deal with enough pressure and anxiety already. They should all be given the opportunity to take place in the rite of passage that is prom, and more importantly, to have hilariously awkward photos of themselves in questionable fashion choices to laugh at in ten years. Any words of support for Amanda? Do you think this is wrong or do you think dates should be required at prom? Did you have a date to your prom? Embrace being single, in high school and beyond: *Weekend Date Challenge: 6 Reasons to Take Yourself on a Date *8 Reasons Being Single Rocks *The Biggest Dating Lesson I&amp;#x27;ve Learned in NYC? Love Thyself Photo: Thinkstock "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2012/04/you-wont-believe-the-horrible>