Spring has finally sprung and with it has come prom season. A season most girls look forward to with bated breath and a season boys see as another one of those times where their mom makes them wear a tux. Prom season comes around and soon everyone in high school is only able to talk about dresses and dates and prom-posals. And, likewise, everyone not in high school becomes increasingly annoyed and nostalgic. Being a member of the later category, I too found myself caught up in the anticipation of prom. I remember dress shopping with my mom and my boyfriend’s mom, ordering the boutonniere for my date, getting my hair done and dancing the night away with my friends.
Contrary to popular belief, once you go to college you do not completely disconnect from high school -- you still have friends there and will most likely find yourself still getting swept up in the drama of the times (unfortunately, high school drama doesn’t pay attention to state lines). This becomes more true if you have a sibling who is in high school. This becomes even more true if that sibling is attending the prom. Insert me here.
My younger brother went to the prom this past Saturday and like many other sisters with younger brothers who can probably sympathize, I found myself caught up in the prom chit chat weeks, even months, before the actual prom. Boys tend to have that indifferent attitude towards prom (probably something with having to wear a tux) and seeing my brother fall into that category I found myself dedicated to remedy his situation. Though my brother was not one to share all the details of his prom endeavors, I was successful in acquiring some relevant information (with the help of my mom and sister of course): who he wanted to go with, when he was going to ask her, how he was going to ask her, what tux he was going to wear, where pictures were being taken at, who was in his group, where he was going to after-prom. I should point out, however, that most of this information I received a day or even a few hours before the actual prom-posal and prom (so don’t overestimate my abilities).
However, all of that information became irrelevant this past Saturday when my brother, who is 12 (in reality he is 17, but to me he is still in middle school), put on his powder blue jacket and shiny black shoes and went off to prom. My family and I drove to a local park for pictures, we waited for my brother’s date to arrive, we ooh-ed and aw-ed over the dresses of the girls walking by, we scrutinized our brother’s date like all protective siblings and families should, we took the classic family photos and goofy siblings ones.
Amongst all the festivities, reality set in and I felt old: it didn’t seem that long ago that I was going to my junior prom. I realized that despite all the information I did acquire about prom, all the prom drama I tried to keep up with, the role I played in my brother’s outfit or prom-posal, I was delusional to think that though I move forward and grow up, my brother will stay the same -- the same age, the same height, the same personality. Like I did, he will apply to colleges next year, get into college, choose a college, and then go to that college. My younger brother, who still relies on me to find things he misplaces, will be a full-fledged adult within one year. This concept is still baffling to me even as I type it, but it’s something that I have finally begun to see as real. Leave it to prom to make me realize my brother’s impending adulthood and the increasing distance between me and my youth.
It’s funny how, sometimes, it is easier to see how far you’ve come by realizing how much your siblings have grown.
