How about getting active in neighborhood civic affairs like cleaning up the environment? Or join the teen group of a charity. While you’ll be spending your time for a good cause, you’ll also have the opportunity of meeting new faces.

Now that they’ve lowered the voting age to eighteen, there are a lot more young people getting involved in politics. So what if you can’t vote yet? You can still help the candidate of your choice, and you can also meet a lot of interesting people.

These are just a few suggestions of where you might go to meet boys. There are probably hundreds I haven’t listed, maybe that I haven’t even thought of. I leave it to you to fill in the rest.

Just be aware that you can meet boys practically anywhere. The sweet old lady who lives down the street who you help carry packages for could have a darling grandson. If someone wants to fix you up on a blind date, accept. You may go out with nine duds, but the tenth one could really be something special.

And don’t think of the nine unsuccessful dates as complete failures. They’ve given you the experience you’ll need to help make number ten so successful. If you’ve had a chance to practice being charming, self-confident, and a good date, then no date is ever a total loss.

5. SHOW HIM YOU THINK OF HIM AS A SPECIAL PERSON. The key word in this is “Special”. You have to be very careful about going from step four to step five. You should be able to tell from his reactions to you what he thinks of you. If it looks like he just wants to be buddies, then don’t make the mistake of telling him you’d like it to be more than that. If he shows you he’s interested in you but perhaps is not sure how you feel about him, or perhaps he’s just extremely shy, then it’s up to you to get it across to him that you’re interested. This can and must be done in subtle ways - the way you look at him, your smile, the touch of your hand brushing his - ways known instinctively to women since the beginning of time.

With the combination of the right chemistry and good fortune, it shouldn’t be long before you embark on the next stage of your quest for popularity. I guess that’s really the ultimate stage anyway. I mean, of course, dating.