The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the smell of spring is in the air. The depths of winter are finally ending and the best season of the year is just beginning. That’s right; it’s formal season. Time for everyone to get all dolled up, take boujee pictures, and make memories that will last a lifetime. While formal season can be awesome, it is not all puppies and rainbows.

Here is why formal season is simultaneously the absolute best and the absolute worst.

It’s the worst because…

1. Trying to find a date is miserable

If you are one of the lucky people with a significant other, then count your blessings. If you’re single like me though, then it is quite the dilemma figuring out who to ask. Do you want to ask a friend and play it safe? Do you want to make a power move and ask the guy you have a crush on? But what if they say no? Who to take, who to take? The worst part is this dilemma comes so much earlier than necessary because you have to submit who you are planning to take a month prior to the dance. What if you don’t like this person by the time you actually have to take them to the dance? A month is a long time for you to be confident in your decision.

2. If you wait too long, your date will get asked before you have the chance to ask them

You don’t want to ask them too early because you don’t want to seem desperate. Totally understandable, except it may bite you in the ass. If you wait too long someone else may swoop in and ask them first. The only thing worse than not asking them is having them be there with someone else. Don’t let this happen to you. Be bold, be confident, and just ask them already.

3. When it's not your formal, life is super boring

This is especially true at a small school. Whenever a formal is occuring, most of your friends are attending without you. This makes for a very boring and uneventful night while everyone else is living their best life. This is amplified even more when multiple formals occur in the same weekend.

It's the best because…

1. Insta is poppin’ with fabulous pics

If you’re anything like me, then you can appreciate a good post on Instagram. Formal calls for a million posts, regardless if it is your formal or not. Everyone looks their absolute best in beautiful dresses and snazzy ties. I love to scroll through insta and see all these people absolutely thriving. I am rooting for you and that bomb red lipstick you have on.

2. Nothing else matters for just one night

Who cares if you failed your exam that morning, or work is slowly sucking the life out of you. It is formal and nothing else matters. For one night, and one night only, you are able to forget about everything that is going wrong and only focus on all the great things to come. Go and dance your troubles away.

3. All your best friends are together

It's not everyday that all of your best friends are in one place having fun. Everyone you love in one room living it up. You’ll have these memories for the rest of your life, and will probably be telling your kids about them. After all, it is not every day that you get to party on a rooftop or in the Indianapolis Zoo’s Dolphin Dome.

There’s plenty of aspects that I don’t love about formal, but they are completely outweighed by all of the things that I love. It sucks trying to find a formal date, but it is such a relief once you do. Even though it may be boring when someone else's formal is going on, at least your timeline will be filled with their dope photos. When it is finally time for your formal, you will absolutely thrive. Get excited because its time to make some poor decisions that will turn into awesome stories. Happy formal season, everybody.