Why I Love Prom (And Why It's Okay If You Don't)

Director Dr. Tim Gott gets down at the Gatton Academy Prom.

This past weekend was the rite of passage for many upperclassmen at the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky: prom.

According to the whiteboard on the front desk, we were to leave for the Alumni Center, where our prom was taking place, at 6:45 pm since apparently snacks were starting at 7:00 pm, but prom didn't really start at 7:00 pm on April 14th, 2014. It actually started a lot earlier.

It started with a young girl watching a slew of Disney Channel Original Movies dealing with school dances, playing ridiculous amounts of online dress up games, and asking her seventh grade best friend if in the event they didn't have dates to prom five years from then, they would go together as friends. Before, that young girl had superficial ideas of what prom would be like.

But while that younger me had the wrong ideas, I still love prom, but it's not just because of the dress, the hours you spend on your hair and makeup, the flowers you may or may not get, having a date, taking a God awful number of pictures, or any of that.

It's because it's a school-sanctioned last hoorah with your closest friends before you move on with the rest of your life. It's about dancing (poorly or not) to the line dances you knew in elementary school. It's about singing to "Livin' On A Prayer" while you wait for your nails to dry with your best girl friends. It's about watching two juniors play ping pong in their gown and tux before going to take pictures. It's about the cheesy selfies. It's about singin'/screamin' at the top of your lungs to whatever songs they are playing at that moment. It's the moment you walk outside and see all your classmates and you think to yourself "Wow, I never knew how beautiful/handsome everybody was." It's about swaying side to side in a giant circle with a group of people who became your second family. It just has everything to do with the people there with you.

While your back may be sore, your feet may be bruised from not keeping your heels on, and your "waterproof" mascara formed circles around your eyes, it felt like it was worth it to me. As I am on the last leg of my senior year--as well as recovering from all the pizza I ate and washing all the hairspray out--I can't help but love it all. I had fun. I was always told that prom was about preparing and to be let down when it actually happens. But for me, it was different. Maybe the little girl in me would've been disappointed because it wasn't magical, but it was fun. It was what it's supposed to be. And it was great.

However, I realized before this past Saturday that prom wasn't for everybody and I understood that. I still understand that. Big rooms with small dance floors and close bodies aren't for everybody. Some people don't like dressing up. Some people just aren't comfortable with it. But you know what? That's okay. Because there's nothing wrong with that. You are no better or worse a person for hating/loving prom. I just love that you've been along for the ride, even if you weren't there for the flashing lights.