With the end of the school year approaching quickly, prom has been on every high schooler's mind. Movies and the media are portraying prom as a perfect, flaw-free evening, with all of these unrealistic expectations. There is so much emphasis placed on this being a perfect event that it becomes extremely stressful, ultimately ending in disappointment or the loss of fun.

Starting with finding a date to prom, there are so many expectations. Guys are expected to ask girls in some elaborate and creative way, all while keeping it a surprise. Unfortunately, everyone usually knows who they're going to prom with months in advance, ruining the whole surprise element. There is also the opposite where people don't know who they're going to go to prom with, and end up feeling poorly and embarrassed about going alone. After personally attending prom twice, I realize that going solo with my friends wouldn't have been a bad idea. There is this preconceived notion that you HAVE to attend prom with a date, and that is completely untrue. Attending prom with a boyfriend or girlfriend isn't necessary to have a fun time; in fact, it could possibly put stress on the relationship if there are high expectations for the night. On the contrary, if you go with a friend of the opposite gender, there is always the underlying possibility that one could think of the other as something more than a friend, potentially making prom uncomfortable. There really isn't a way to guarantee the "perfect date," but you shouldn't be afraid to attend prom alone if that's the case!

Then there's the attire. Girls will go out and spend hundreds of dollars on a dress, shoes, accessories and getting their hair and makeup done. It's crazy! Because I attended senior prom with a friend during my junior year, I personally was not looking to spend tons of money on a dress. I had planned on borrowing a dress, but ended up finding a flattering dress at Sears for only $50! I received many compliments that night, and no one even knew that my dress wasn't super expensive. I also picked up inexpensive makeup from the drug store and did my makeup myself to save on the unnecessary cost. If you feel comfortable doing your own makeup, just watch a few Youtube tutorials for inspiration and save yourself the money! At least you will be able to fix it if you don't like the end result, and you will know you didn't pay a lot for it. You also get to keep the products and re-use them!

For my own prom senior year, I attended with my boyfriend at the time and decided to buy a more expensive dress, since it was my prom, and I had saved a lot on my dress the year before. I once again did my own makeup that year. Both years I got my hair done because I wanted an up-do, and wore jewelry and shoes that I had already owned and broken in. I also ordered clutches both years off Amazon to avoid paying for a really expensive one. Moral of the story is, you don't have to spend tons of money on all these things to guarantee that you will look good at prom.

Ultimately, the success of your prom night isn't primarily based on having the perfect date (or a date at all), the amount of money you spend on a dress or any of that. If you present yourself well, and have a positive attitude and mindset about the night, with no crazy expectations, you will have an awesome time. Remember, you can't control everything, so sometimes you just have to roll with the punches and make the best of it!