High school senior:
Prom! It's literally all you've been talking about for months. You've been eating healthy, dress hunting, working out and scheduling appointments like crazy, all in preparation for the best day of your life. When you type the word "prob" in a text message, it legitimately autocorrects because your iPhone thinks you meant to say "prom." It's getting slightly out of hand, but you could not be more excited as the big day finally approaches.
College freshman:
LOL, prom?
My name is Sam (Cue, "Hi, Sam," from Promaholics Anonymous attendees), and I am addicted to proms. Throughout my high school career, I attended several proms, mostly because every time my male friends asked me who I thought they should invite to prom, I volunteered myself. Among my reasons for doing so are the following:
1. You get to dress up and feel like a princess!
2. You always come away from a high school prom with profile picture-worthy photos.
3. You get to dance all night long with no inhibitions and you don't get judged because that's just what you do at prom.
4. You get to hang out with your date all night, and if he's cute and there's chemistry, you might even get a magical, foot-popping goodnight kiss, à la "The Princess Diaries."
5. Free food.
Seems like a no-brainer, right? Right.
So next weekend, although I just wrapped up my freshman year of college, I am going to my former high school's senior prom (again) because my best friend in the world, Will, asked me to go with him. This is Will ("Hi, Will"!):
(Will is perfect, and I think there are a lot of high school seniors who are mad that I get to go with him because "I don't even go here.")
Anyway, to my great surprise, when I told people I was going to senior prom again, a lot of them reacted poorly. Some examples:
"Wow, that sucks."
"Aren't you going to feel a little washed up?"
"Thank God nobody asked me."
"You said yes?"
"Do you want me to call you halfway through and pretend it's an emergency?"
(Obviously, these responses have nothing to do with Will, but have everything to do with the mere fact that I would be attending a high school function.)
Honestly, I was a little bummed at these responses. Of course it doesn't suck -- I had an absolute blast at my senior prom and would kill to do it all over again. And no, I won't feel washed up. Mostly, the kids attending this prom are only a couple months younger than I am. (Who do you think you are? A grown-up?)
For a little while, I let these people get in my head. For all these stupid reasons, I got worried that I wouldn't have fun, or worse, that Will wouldn't have fun because I suddenly felt uncomfortable. But then I thought about it and realized that all of the reasons I loved going to prom last year are still totally valid reasons why I should love going to prom this year. And it just so happens that my date is the coolest, best-looking, most fun person I've ever met, which definitely doesn't hurt.
So if you're a college student, freshman or otherwise, and you got invited to a high school prom, then go to it! Don't let down your date and miss out on a night of fun just because jealous people (who, honestly, would probably kill to relive their high school days) want to ruin it for you. Go out there and murder the dance floor just like you did your senior year of high school, and don't let anyone tell you that it's lame because it's most definitely not.
