I Could Have Been A Debutante, But Instead I Chose Not To Be One
I chose not to participate in the Debutante Ball, but you should if you want to.
When I was 18, I received an offer to become a Debutante. At the time I wasn't in a great place mentally, and even though both of my sisters were Debutantes, I turned the offer down. Now four years later, I am very thankful that I didn't waste my parent's money participating in this event.
The original concept of a Debutante Ball is to present young, upper-class women as they have entered an age in which they are presented into society. The women are required to have a male escort, and they must learn how to properly curtsy.
I've been to two Debutante Balls when I was younger, once when I was in middle school and selected to be a Ribbon Bearer, and the second time was when I was in high school, and my older sister was a Debutante herself. When I was a Ribbon Bearer, I didn't exactly have a lot of fun. There were a lot of young girls who were Ribbon Bearers at the time, and even though I had a lot of friends participate in the event, I didn't necessarily enjoy that experience.
Almost every girl who was chosen to be a Debutante the year that I was supposed to attend went to one of the two most prominent private schools in my hometown at some point in their lives, which helps further the cause that this event is supposed to be for exclusive members of our society.
I noticed though that the number of girls in my hometown who are participating in the annual Debutante Bal is decreasing. There seemed to be at least 20 or 30 girls becoming Debutantes when I was little, but last year only 11 girls wanted to be Debutantes.
I'm not sure if the committee who puts these events on are becoming more exclusive with the girls that they chose, or if more girls are deciding not to become Debutantes.
I chose not to be one. I didn't see the point or feel comfortable getting dressed up in a big white dress, with girls that I didn't know, to learn how to curtsy and be presented to society. That tradition to me seems extraordinarily outdated.
Contrary to popular belief, it's not all bad though. I had a friend who enjoyed being a Debutante. She had a lot of friends that participated in the event, after you curtsy and have been presented to society you do get to have a really fun party. I myself never really enjoyed those parties, but she did.
I'm not going to sway you either way on becoming a Debutante if you get the chance. Every person is different and if you want to spend the money to participate then go for it. I personally didn't see a point even though both of my sisters were Debutantes, but that's okay.
