I interviewed two people about their thoughts regarding prom. One was a senior days away from her prom, the other a college freshman. I didn't interview a substantially older person as there was no one available for comment. The first interviewee was a senior awaiting her prom. She seemed very excited and had high hopes. I asked her why she was excited, her response was "Because it's something that I've been looking foward to, and every body else is excited so that makes me even more excited. Also, it's the last celebration that I'll have with people in my grade" I thought it interesting that she was looking forward more to the community aspect more so than the dance or the date. What do you expect? "Just to have a good time, see people that I've never seen dressed up before, and bond with the people in my grade" Again the community aspect is very strong. The one on one emotion between dates isn't at the top of her mind.
Speaking to the college student, he wasn't as positive about prom. I asked him if prom lived up to expectations, to which he responded "Yeah, shitty" I asked him if he could elaborate, "SOF is a tiny school. We have a hundred kids a class. I figured it wouldnt be much. We pay a lot for tickets. I spoke to other kids at my college who said they only paid about 20 to 30 bucks. We pay a lot of money for something not that fun" The negativity was obvious. He said that the senior trip fulfilled the community aspect more so than prom did. He thought prom was pretty much unessescary. He thought it nothing like the dominant model of prom and thought the only cool thing was seeing everyone dressed up. He also said, "I wouldn't have minded missing it." This was really interesting that he wouldn't care that he missed his senior prom, that to others means so much. I do hope the senior that I interviewed doesn't share these views and gets something valuable out of her experience.
I feel we overplay the social importance of prom. It is one night that will mean nothing in a few years time. We picture this huge ball where everybody is beautiful and happy. But in reality, we're looking forward to what may possibly be a huge let down. A feeling I've noticed among my peers is the excitement not for prom, but for the parties that will come after. Community seems to be playing a huge role in prom expectations. As for those choosing not to go, maybe because they say it's stupid or it's this huge contest or that it epitomizes teenage stupidity, maybe they just aren't a part of the community? Food for thought.
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