I'm sure we've all heard the claim that prom is the best night of your life. I'll be the first to negate that statement. In fact, it wasn't even one of the best nights of my life. But, it did give me a lot of last-minute memories, and that's why I still think that every high school senior should go.

For starters, prom is one of the last times that I was able to spend time with everyone in my graduating class and even in my group of friends before we all left for college. During the summer, most of my friends worked or had family vacations, and it was hard to find time that all of us could be together at once. That's why prom was important; it was like one last free night together before a long school year spent apart.

It gave us a whole night to just have fun without worrying about work or school or figuring things out for college. It was a perfect escape from the stress of transitioning between the end of senior year and the beginning of a whole new life at college.

It wasn't uneventful either. In fact, I had a lot of fun, although it was far from the expectations that society seems to have about what it should be like. I got to dress up, take cute pictures, and dance with my friends all night. Then after that, I got to spend even more time with them at after-prom.

After-prom may have even been better than the actual dance, so if dancing isn't your thing, you can still find joy in the post-event activities. It's nice to just have a few hours solely dedicated to spending time with your friends without any stress.

Try not to think of prom as just another dance. Think of it as what it truly is: a fun, stress-free night that you get to spend with the friends that you may not see again for a while. I promise that although it may not be the "best night of your life," being with your graduating class one last time makes it worth going.