My school has a junior and senior prom and I went last year and didn’t really enjoy it. I mean the food was great and the music was good but I spent a good amount of time sitting at my table on my phone reading fanfiction because that’s just what I find more interesting. Now that it’s almost time to buy prom bids again, I don’t really know if it’s worth the money for the bid as well as an outfit. I’ve also recently realized that I just don’t feel comfortable wearing a dress and I wouldn’t know where to get something else to wear.
Throughout high school, I never thought I’d be one of those people who doesn’t go to prom. It’s not like I’m not one of those people who is never seen anywhere outside of school or doing anything but studying. But I’d just much rather watch some Netflix than get dressed up and hang out with my friends which I do already, for free, all the time. I don’t really understand why prom is so special? Like is there something I’m missing? My friends are going down the shore for prom weekend but I’m not allowed to come so it’s not like I’d have that to look forward to either.
I never went to prom and I do not regret it at all. If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. You can still hang out with your friends, before or after the dance, or you could just spend the night with Netflix and some fanfiction. Either option sounds good to me.
Senior year, two of my best friends went to prom without dates. They tried to get me to go to, but I had no interest in going. So we met up at Arby’s where our other friend (different school) worked. The four of us just hung out together. They were all dressed up for prom and I was in jeans and a t-shirt. We took a couple of pictures then they went to prom and I went home. I don’t remember for sure what I did the rest of the night, but I know that I had a better time at home than I would have at Prom.
And I’m with you on the whole ‘what makes prom so special’ thing. I don’t know either.
I think you answered your own question right there.
I encourage my kids to step outside of their comfort zones and try stuff they don’t think they’ll like – once. You already went and it wasn’t your thing. Stay home and buy yourself a wonderful new book or start a new series on Netflix. Prom is not the be-all and end-all your peers want you to believe it is.
We had two proms as well at my school, and while the first one was awful I actually really enjoyed the second and was so glad I decided to go (that may have been because of the alcohol there though…). There was also a girl who wore a suit instead of a dress and looked lovely, or you could wear a jumpsuit or something?
Then again, if it’s really not your thing then I don’t think you’ll be missing out on a massive part of life - it’s just one fairly overpriced evening. Are your friends going?
As a mom I will say, yes you should go to prom! It’s a right of passage, one you will look back on fondly, laugh at the styles you wore, etc… go, give it a chance, and have fun. It’s the last hurrah of high school, many of the people in your graduating class you’ll never see again after graduation. I say go and and have a good time. As for not wanting to wear a dress, there are lots of evening apporopriate jumpsuits and rompers out there that look awesome, be a trendsetter. My daughter opts for long, full skirted dresses with pockets she can wear flip flops with. Nothing wrong with choosing your own style.
Thanks for all of the responses!
@greenstudent I doubt the amount of alcohol will be different lol, we have just one junior/senior prom so I can’t imagine it would be much different than last year. They’re also really strict about those kinds of things (although i’m sure a couple people always figure out a way to sneak it in). Most of my friends are going I think but one is also considering not.
Nah. I’m not going to my senior prom. I went last year, but don’t really want to go again this year because I probably won’t like it. I’d go to any of the after-prom festivities because it’s me hanging around my actual friends, but I don’t want to spend a night with people I don’t really like. You went last year, so it’s not bad if you don’t go this year. I also disagree with it being the last hurrah of high school. The last hurrah is like a senior trip or something fun like that, not some glorified dance.
The single most important thing you can learn in high school: never do anything just because “everybody does” or it’s a “rite of passage” or it’s “expected.” Be you.
I’ve been out of high school for over a year now and I never went to either of my proms due to changing schools several times during my four years of high school and not even having friends because of that, not having a date, and financial reasons. I have my own thread about this and if there Is anything similar to it I can attend in the future.
If your going to a four year college this fall, planning on going to one, or planning to transfer to one then there should be other opportunities for dances if this is what you like doing in any way.
Did you go to Prom? What are you doing now that high school is over?
I think it was good that you experience a prom…now you know what it is like, you can make an informed decision.
I don’t think you should go to prom if you don’t want. Personal!y, I am concerned about your sense of obligation. Just how is not going to prom bad? You didn’t enjoy it last year and you may never enjoy events with music, dancing and what ever else bothers you. Not voting maybe vaguely ad, but avoiding prom does not decrease the value of your life. Do what suits you.
I did not go to prom (I saw Wonder Woman instead!). I thought it would be bad because everyone was so shocked when I said I didn’t think I was going to go to prom. All of my friends were going and it was like I was missing some huge part of the high-school-senior experience.
Originally, I was going to hang out with another friend who was not going, but we ended up having a falling out back in April. So, about a week before my school’s prom, I was chatting with a friend from a different school who mentioned that she wasn’t going to her school’s either! So we went to Applebee’s and had dinner and saw Wonder Woman after. Maybe I would have had fun at prom this year, but making dick jokes with mozzarella sticks, watching Gal Gadot be beautiful, and reconnecting with an old friend was good too 
Prom weekend worked out, too, so we went to the beach for two days and I got my first real sunburn!
@SuperGeo5999 I don’t think there are too many prom-like opportunities in college, probably because a school-sanctioned dance isn’t the typical college student’s idea of a good time.
I’m taking a gap year to work and travel, and then I’m headed off to Smith (a small four-year liberal arts college) in the fall of 2018.
Well a dance at school to me seems better than a dance at the bars because I do not wanna go to bars because I want to avoid alcohol as much as I can. I’m not a fan of dancing either but it might be something to do with someone you date.