If you were a senior a few years ago, you’ll probably understand how prom was kind of a big deal. It’s the one night during senior year that you can dress up and have a fun night with your class, even for only a few hours. With my high school’s prom coming up in a few weeks, it reminds me of a few things that made my senior prom a night to remember.

I’ll never forget the preparation for it

I can assure you that I’m not the first girl to say prom can be stressful. You have to pick your dream dress (for a decent price, which can come close to impossible), figure out whose house you’ll take pictures at, what table you’ll sit at, what to do with hair and makeup and the list keeps going. As much as I don’t like stress over a night that is supposed to be a fairytale, I can honestly say I miss it so much, mainly because all that stress was going to lead to a night full of incredible memories.

I’ll never forget getting pampered

Whether you go out and have a professional do your hair and makeup or you (or a family member) do it, you enjoy being able to make yourself more beautiful then you already are. If you’re a gentleman, I hope you enjoyed dressing up for one night (I know, not wearing sweats for one night is rough, but trust me, your date appreciated it).

I’ll never forget the date who made it special

I’ll never forget how my date looked at me when he saw me for the first time in my dress (that I had made myself). I appreciated the “little things” he did such as opening the car door, buying me beautiful flowers, patiently waiting for me (my hair took a while) and you know, choosing to spend the whole night with me over video games. I also can’t forget the fact he had asked me to be his “princess” for the night, stuck with me through all my stress over it and just having patience with me in general as I wanted to give us a perfect night to end our senior year.

I’ll never forget my senior class.

They all had an impact on this incredible night, and I wish I could re-live it to see them all. It was amazing to see my entire class celebrate one of the last nights we would all have together. Sadly, after high school graduation, you don’t exactly see a lot of your classmates anymore. If anything, it’s when they pop up on your newsfeed, or if you randomly bump into them somewhere. We go our separate ways, but that doesn’t mean we have to forget the awesome moments our senior year provided for us.

I’ll never forget the memories (and I have the pictures to prove it)

There are many ways prom can be fun and unforgettable. Whether it was your date who danced a lot with you to have a good time, the food tasting like heaven on a plate, or your favorite teacher taking the ultimate “selfie” with you, you won’t forget the reason your prom was so important to remember. I had the time of my life in under four hours, and that is the reason I will never forget this wonderful night.