Optimus Prom
Prom is a high school experience that everyone needs to attend, whether you are going with a date or not; it’s a tradition that needs to be followed. Prom comes from the original word promenade which means a march of guests into a ballroom constituting the opening of a formal ball. It’s a night filled with memories and loads of dancing to be shared with good friends or with that special someone. Over the years Prom has changed different things but overall it’s the same concept.
In the olden day high schools only had one dance and that was Prom their senior year. Now days we are offered two dances our freshmen and sophomore year and three dances our junior and senior year. Going to a senior Prom back then was a rite of passage in a young teenager’s life. It marked the first step into adulthood. Also if you didn’t have a date to go with you didn’t get to go to the Prom. Having a date was mandatory. That is the biggest change of all. Now girls are allowed to go alone. Not having someone to go with doesn’t limit them from having a good time. Prom didn’t used to be all glitz and glamour. It used to be that the dance would be in the high school gym, your date would pick you up in his car and you would go eat and dance. Now it cost hundreds of dollars for Prom. Men have to pay for their tuxes, shoes, their dates and their tickets, the limo, and food. Girls must pay for a dress, nails, hair, shoes, food, and limo, sometimes even their own ticket. As time goes on they find more extravagant ways of throwing a Prom.
The weeks leading up to Prom are the most stressful time. You have to make sure you get your nails done, have your hair done, and find the perfect dress and date. Finding a Prom dress is very difficult. Dresses are at the minimum 300 dollars so finding a decent dress for a cheap price can be hard to find. Finding a date is especially difficult. It’s your Prom so you’re thinking the person has to be right. This is the night you’re always going to remember so you have to go with either a boyfriend or a really great friend, someone you’re going to have a lot of fun with. The stress that comes along with Prom can cause people to think if going is worth the stress but it is.
When I asked Katie McDonald a junior here at Trabuco Hills what Prom meant to her, her reply was “Prom is a special occasion that should be spent your senior year, because that’s the year that should matter the most.” For those who are thinking of not attending Prom here’s an idea of what you would be missing out on.
This year’s dance was at the Grove in Anaheim. Walking into Prom as a senior can be an emotional time. This is your last dance, your time as a senior is coming to an end. Prom is a night to live it up to the great expectation you’ve been waiting for ever since you started high school. Walking into the Grove you were greeted by some nice men in a yellow highlighted jacket that said security in the front. There they allowed us to blow on a breathalyzer to see if we were sober or not. After passing them we went up to the tables picked out our name and made our way to a photographer who took one picture of us on the blue carpet. When you first walking into the dance all you can see is the piles of food greeting you. Chocolate covered strawberries, brownies, caramel apples, and all the drinks you want. After passing the food the dance floor catches your eye. All your friends are just waiting for you to come with them to dance the night away. The night goes by so fast one moment you have an hour left and the next the nights over. The amount of money Prom cost doesn’t even add up to the amount of regret that comes with not going to a senior Prom. In the end you won’t regret it.