Prom, a waste of money or a night to remember?

I remember being a little girl in elementary school, dreaming of the day I could put on a beautiful dress that made me feel like a princess and go dance the night away with my friends on the night called prom. A night where I would feel beautiful and there would be no issues. Wrong.

That little girl got a little older and did go to prom. She spent 400$ dollars on a beautiful dress and more, uncounted money on food, shoes, jewelry, and getting my hair done. So was it as magical as I had once dreamed? In short, not even close. There were complications and arguments. The venue was hot and stinky, the music not so great, and my updo began to fall out as soon as I started dancing. Sure, my friends and I looked beautiful, and the night was fun enough, but if I would have known how anticlimactic the whole thing was going to be, I would not have put so much effort into it. I had so many expectations going into this night, and it turned out to be mediocre.

After it was over, all I could think about was what I could’ve done with that money. I could have bought a cross-country plane ticket. I could have bought a 100$ dress, and put the rest in the bank. I COULD HAVE USED IT ALL FOR FOOD! Among my group of friends, I seemed to be the only one uncharmed by prom. The more I thought about it, the more I began to dislike it. Aren’t we supposed to feel beautiful all the time? What’s the fun in spending 500$ on one night?

This is no real life experience! We’re just a bunch of teenagers halfway dancing in a crowded room. Kind of awkward if you ask me. Bottom line, I won’t be thinking about prom when I’m 25, 35, 45, or even 85. One thing I will say though, it was nice to be dressed up, even if it was expensive.