Prom is the make or break of most high school careers. It is the event most looked forward to by high schoolers whether they are actually seniors or underclassmen. It is the time when the most popular people are crowned king and queen, the dateless are revealed to be single, girls compete to see who has the best dress, boys and girls summon the courage to ask someone out and underclassmen hope to be one of the lucky few who get asked to the prom by a senior. This social milestone is the subject of a lot of teen movies, including pop culture favorites like "She's All That" and "Pretty in Pink."
However, what the media hype fails to cover is one aspect that is trending, one aspect that defies most of what we know about prom.
Friend prom.
Friend prom is when you, a dateless senior, decide to go to prom with your friends as your dates, not the cute boy in your class or an athlete. This can be practiced by boys or girls and you can go as two friends or, more commonly, as a group. You and your friends are an army of singles who defy social expectations.
Even in an age where independence is encouraged and friends are often more valued than significant others, it is important to show you don't care. It is important that you have a good time with the people you care about and enjoy the last days of your high school life.
There are a lot of benefits to friend prom. If you do not have a boyfriend or girlfriend, you will avoid the nightmares that most teenagers fear befalling them on this special night: getting dumped, infidelity, pressure to have sex, wishing you were with another girl or guy. Not only will you not have to worry about your boyfriend making out with a cheerleader or getting too touchy but you can focus on your friends. You can mingle with other people without having to worry about leaving your boy/girlfriend alone or dragging them along. You can dance with any girl or boy you like and dance however provocatively you please.
What is also important to remember is that most high schoolers and even college students are single. A lot of people I have encountered or seen on my campus do not seem as interested in dating as they are in their studies, hobbies or (unfortunately) themselves. Nobody really bats an eye anymore when you tell them you are eternally single. This social change has certainly made things easier for me.
I went to prom with my best friends. None of us had dates so we went together, all three of us looking our best in an effort to show the boys what they were missing out on. I had a great time and I saw that some other people also had the same idea as us.
I hate to sound cliche but boyfriends and girlfriends come and go while friends are forever. I think prom is the best example of this saying and is the night we truly discover that for ourselves. When you look back on the high school years, you have probably had a couple of boyfriends or girlfriends and did not hang with them after the breakup. Friends, on the other hand, last longer - even new ones. It is friends who make the high school years. It is friends who make sure you are never alone in a time when friendship and acceptance is crucial for self-esteem.
In conclusion, I recommend friend prom for everybody. I applaud the young men and women who go to prom without dates for any reason, by choice or not by choice. Just look to me and other high school graduates and college students as examples that traditions can be altered.
Who needs boys? I have BFF's.
