I’ve always loved playing dress up. Whether it was putting a Thomas the Tank Engine bucket on my head when I was four or strapping on my favorite heels for semi-formal, putting on something a little different, silly or dressy, has always made me feel a special sort of invincible magic.

I know I’m not alone, though. We all dressed up in our dreams when we were little, whether that be SuperMan or Cinderella. We all hoped to be strong and live happily ever after, and by looking the part we were one step closer.

Even today, we dress up to look like what we want: to be older, independent, confident, special. Prom is a unique time where we get to play dress up a little more than usual. We get to wear gowns that make us feel like goddesses and suits that make us feel like special agents.

There are other times where you’ll get to dress up, surely, but prom is the last time we’ll dress up to be like our aspirations rather than just put on an outfit that’s out of the ordinary. Prom is the last time we get to live in the bliss of youthful dressup, pretending to be adult but still enjoying our childlike privileges of not worrying about reality.

In a few short months, my life is going to be turned upside down. For the first time, I’ll be taking responsibility for everything, and I can’t put on my glass slippers to take a break from everything.

So I’m going to prom this year because it’s my last chance to put a bucket on my head, to enjoy every moment of being a princess, to soak up every ounce of youth with my friends, to live in the moment. I know reality is coming, but we’ve got until the clock strikes midnight, and I plan to enjoy every minute.
– Grace Lady

•••

Prom.

When the word “prom” pops into my head, it is automatically followed by an eyeroll, a sigh and a feeling of stress that are all completely unnecessary. Completely. It is a high school prom. In the long run, it is an insignificant part of your high school career.

I can’t really bash the overly-hyped event too much since I went last year as a junior and am planning to go again this year. However, I can provide perfectly true and logical facts proving that prom is a bit much and why it stresses me out.

First of all, it’s so much flipping money. The average U.S. family will plan to drop about $919 on a prom-going teen. And for what? For one night. I get it, good memories with your friends and such, but dropping almost a grand is A LOT.

That amount of money stresses me out. I hate wasting my and my parents money on a dress, hair, makeup, dinner etc. I could probably put that money to better use to help pay for college.

And then there’s the Mount Pleasant tradition of finding a prom house. As someone who isn’t from here, prom houses aren’t a thing most places.

So now there’s the added cost of paying for a house AND the stress of getting everything for a house together. Honestly, what the heck. This is a lot of work for a high school dance, and a lot of stress for all parties involved.

Prom, you are fun when you finally arrive, but I will not miss your pre-dance stress and excessive cost next year when I go to college.
– Kat Kollegger