Prom. I did not enjoy my prom. I wasn’t a high school beauty queen and I didn’t have a ton of friends. If I could go back and do it all over again I’m not even sure I would have attended my prom.

It’s supposed to be the night of your life right? You’re 18, have no cares in the world, an excuse to dress up and dance with all of your high school friends. It’s supposed to be a blast.

If you could relive it would you?

I recently had the opportunity to have a bit of a different prom experience and help plan and participate in a senior citizen prom. Through Metro Detroit Hillel and Jewish Senior Life, Sunday, March 6, saw the third annual senior citizen prom. And boy was it a blast!

I was really reluctant to participate in an event like this. It seemed silly - why would seniors want to get all dressed up on a lazy Sunday? They won’t want to dance. I honestly wasn’t sure many people would even show.

I could not have been more wrong.

Not only did we have more than 60 seniors attend, we also spent the entire afternoon dancing away! The seniors all came dressed in prom attire and ready to enjoy themselves - and that’s exactly what they did!

I had the chance to sit down with a few of the seniors who attended. My entire life I’ve always loved talking to older people as I think they give a really wise perspective to any situation. Their stories always fascinate me and I think there’s a lot we can learn from the generations before us.

One woman remembered listening to the same songs we danced to this afternoon only when she first heard them it was on her father’s record player. She described what it was like growing up in Detroit in the ’30s and how it was a much simpler time. She danced with same charisma now as I’m sure she had then.

I spoke with a man who sat in the back the entire time. He told me he had always been more than an onlooker rather than a doer. The man told me that was one thing he never liked about himself and encouraged me to be a doer. He shared with me stories of his childhood when gum was only one penny and how full of life his time has been.

I enjoyed speaking to the seniors, but one gentleman I had the pleasure of meeting said something that really stuck with me. “I never danced until I started living in a senior home, and now I can’t stop! Life is just too short.” The minute he entered the room he began dancing and I don’t think he sat down the entire time the music was playing. He was crowned “prom king” and his smile helped light the room.

Life is just too short not to dance. And once you start dancing you just can't stop.