In Which I Attend the First Real Meeting

Really quickly, because I'm about to take NyQuil and basically pass out...

There was actually a lull of approximately two months of me securing an escort and the first real meeting. I received my official 'invitation' in late February, and the first meeting was in March.

My father and I went to the first meeting together. The first thing I noticed upon entering the rec center at the church was that I didn't burst into flame. That's always a plus. When I entered the room where the meeting was being held, I immediately noticed I was the only one not wearing a hoodie.

Then I realized I was the only one not wearing sweatpants.

Awkward.

The first meeting wasn't actually all that scary, except that I realized I was probably one of the only girls who had not yet purchased a dress. And I was the only girl from my school taking part. There were 8 of us - three were from one school, four from another, and me. Of course.

I mean really, nothing very interesting  happened at this meeting. I immediately was able to pick out who would be the 'Libby' of our group, if we were going to have one (if the reference is lost on you, and I'm sure it probably is, I refer you to "Gilmore Girls" episode 2.6, "Presenting Lorelai Gilmore").

Anyway, this is sort of when I hit panic mode and realized that finding a boy to be my escort was really just the beginning. There were so many other scary things coming up I would have to deal with, like dress shopping, shoe shopping, hair, photoshoots, and the actual event itself.

I realized I wasn't made to be, in Julie's words, a princess. I didn't belong.

Coming up next: dress shopping.