I recently got rejected by the person I asked to dance with. How do you deal with that rejection and get over it?

Dear Reader,

In movies, the Homecoming Dance is depicted with a sparkle dusted gym floor, with hundreds of teenagers stomping upon it. For the most part, Hollywood is not too far off. As teachers are forced to chaperone, they wear earplugs to cancel out the blaring pop music. They’re missing out on some important lessons, however.

Taylor Swift preaches the importance to simply “Shake it Off.” In the four hours you attended Homecoming, do not let a mere Ed Sheeran slow-dance song dominate your memory of the entire night. In the moment, rejection may seem to be the predominant event, but remind yourself of all the people who chose to dance with you: your friends. Just because one person did not dance with you, do not disregard the people who did.

Now that you’ve shaken it off, “Don’t Stop Believin’.” I don’t know the entire situation. However, if you truly harbor strong feelings about this person, don’t stop believing. Journey makes a valuable point in saying, “some will win, some will lose.” Sometimes it doesn’t work out, but you have to realize that maybe that’s because it just wasn’t supposed to. To make an analogy, we see our dogs begging for a piece of the chocolate bar we’re eating, but we don’t give them a piece because we know it could hurt them. Spiritually, God, karma, the universe, or whatever you believe in is doing the same thing in leading us on the right path in our lives. God is smiling at us thinking, “Oh, don’t you know there are much better things awaiting you?” So maybe “Stacy’s Mom” really had it going on, but you never know, you may end up falling for “Jessie’s Girl.”

Don’t worry so much, life is way too short for that. Be happy, and never stop dancing!

Always and Absolutely,

Arcelita