With the big day only weeks away, Sam faced the universal high school dilemma. She was on the prom committee of her New Jersey Catholic high school—but she was dateless.
The problem? Her high school’s prom policy states that all attendees must have a date of the opposite gender. The prom committee ordered her to find a date or stay home. But none of the boys she talked to wanted to go as “just friends.”
But Sam isn’t just any Catholic schoolgirl. The 18-year-old, who recently got accepted to the computer engineering program at New Jersey Tech, is a Nerdfighter. She’s one of the army of fans that have formed a progressive Internet community around the projects of John and Hank Green, YouTube stars jointly known to the world as the Vlogbrothers.
What’s a resourceful nerdfighter to do? Hit up the social news site Reddit, of course.
“Any nerdfighters want to come to my senior prom? Sam asked on Reddit’s Nerdfighter forum.
Within minutes Sam was swarmed with interested from Nerdfighters and New Jersey residents offering to help.
“That’s actually less than an hour south of me,” commented the suave DinoTubz, offering to be Sam’s date.
Redditor magniatude also offered to step in, in case she still needed an escort, and Sam told the Daily Dot that she also received several private messages offering to help out. She described the experience as “a great confidence booster,” adding that while she was “mildly embarrassed” about resorting to the Nerdfighter site, everyone she had spoken with had “been great about it so far.”
I was feeling super down and out about not having a prom date but just knowing guys (who are made of awesome) are interested in chatting with me was super nice.
As for other dateless Catholic schoolgirls who might be in similar predicaments this spring, Sam has words of hope:
My advice is just keep your head up, honestly. I have had a hard time (as the majority of high schoolers had) during the past four years. Now that graduation is slowly approaching, I see the light at the end of the tunnel.
In true Nerdfighter fashion, she ends with advice from our hero John Green:
Just believe in yourself as well as your inner and outer beauty. What’s meant to happen will happen and in the words of John “[We are all] on a roller coaster that only goes up, my friend.”
Sounds like someone won’t forget to be awesome on prom night, with or without a date.
Photo by omnomnomnivore/deviantART
