Prom. It’s one of those things that’s so idolized in America. Everyone expects the same thing: your life-long crush, who just so happens to be captain of the football team, asks you out in the most romantic way possible. You roll up in a sleek black limo with your best friends and champagne in hand. You spend the night dancing under the stars in some secret garden you and your date happen to wander into where a string quartet is waiting to play whatever the new pop-love song is and you kiss and it’s magical and you’re both prom king and queen and everyone lives happily-freaking-after.
For those of you whose prom-virginity (ironically similar to a different expectation for this overrated evening) has already been taken, you can attest to the fact that this is not how this night goes at ALL.
Don’t get me wrong, prom can be a good, fine night, filled with dancing and cute boys and pretty dresses. But WOW have we over-sold this whole magical-perfect-rainbows and unicorns SCHOOL dance.
The funny thing is that there isn’t a lot of dancing at prom. Or at least in my experience there wasn’t. But even this is sort of an odd expectation to have. Let’s keep in mind that we are dealing with shy, barely past puberty, boys who the vast majority of don’t know how to dance, let alone fulfill their unknown pre-destined Prince Charming expectations. Most of my proms were spent sitting at uncomfortable tables drinking watered down punch while a DJ played outdated pop songs or those really annoying songs/dances that everyone is obligated to participate in, i.e. the cupid shuffle or cotton-eyed joe. Occasionally, a song my girlfriends and I liked would be played, so we would all migrate to the too-small for the population of kids attending and yet still nearly empty dance floor to belt one of our anthems, after which we would all return to our table, full of hope that maybe our fairytale dreams would still come true.
So, why is it that this high-school dance is so idolized? Why are so many expectations set for a night that will most-likely disappoint every single one?
I think it goes back to the mean girls. The girls who maybe this was the best night of their lives. That night was their peak. So, then they write movies about that night and books and songs, trying to convince the world that that night was the best night of our lives too.
I write all of this to say that I hope that night wasn’t your best. I’ve had a good dozen or two that were much better than prom, and that’s okay! Good even! Be better than prom. Be better than high school. Let the best night of your life be whatever you want it to be. It can include your Prince Charming, or it cannot. You can be dressed in a fluffy, pink dress or a sleek tuxedo, or you can be in your middle-school sweats with holes in them. Screw having a “best day” in the first place! Keep striving to make the next day happier and better than the one before. Don’t peak.
