To the advice column of the Atlanta Times,

I’m twenty-six, I’ve been on one date, and I’ve never been kissed. You’re thinking I must be a complete weirdo that is overweight, with bad hair, glasses, and an out of date wardrobe.

Sorry to disappoint, but I’m pretty. I’m no Jessica Alba, but I’m that everyday, run of the mill, pretty. I can say with pride that my body is bangin.’ I have no shame in saying that. I spend an hour at the gym everyday. And I’m one of the only women in Atlanta that can honestly say I love my hair. It’s a soft shade of russet, and it never gives me any trouble. I was lucky enough never to need glasses. As for the wardrobe, I can’t afford Chanel, but I’m completely up to date with the all the latest knock offs. I’m just your everyday single white female. So now you’re wondering, what’s the problem?

My sister Jenny is a complete disaster when it comes to relationships. She has been dumped so many times; I lost count in the seventh grade. Every time I saw her cry, I swore to myself, No way! I will never let myself end up crying on the bathroom floor wondering just what it was I was doing so wrong.

I forgot this vow one time in the eleventh grade, when this babe, Tyler Bren, asked me to the Homecoming Dance. The date was amazing! We laughed, he held my hand, and for a total of five hours I felt completely normal. I finally saw what it was that made Jenny keep putting her hand back in the fire. However, when I got home that night I found Jenny—once again—curled up on our bathroom floor. I held her late into the night, as I had done countless times before. I listened as she cursed men and swore they were our enemies. The next day I told Tyler that I just wasn’t ready. And that was the beginning and end of my dating experiences.

Today, I sat in my sister’s bathroom listening to her wail in her wedding dress. I had known from the beginning that this one would end like all the others. I just never expected Robbie to leave Jenny standing at the alter. I can’t even begin to imagine her embarrassment, let alone her pain. She had been sure this was the one, that her luck had finally changed. Wrong again, I see.

How am I ever supposed to have a relationship when I can't even find the courage to take a chance on love?