my prom experience.

I’m not sure if I’ve talked about this yet, but if I have, I apologize for my redundancy. I was just talking to one of my friends and somehow, prom was mentioned and I was explaining to him about my experiences. And now I’d like to share those experiences with you.

When I think of prom, I think the perfect dress, getting my hair done, having the perfect date, renting a limo and getting a huge group of friends together. When I think about prom, I envision it like the movies. The guy arrives at the girl’s house, looking handsome in her tux. She slowly makes her entrance down the staircase, her heart racing because she’s dying to see him. Their eyes meet and he smiles at her…as if she’s the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. The parents jump in with their cameras to get the classic “pinning-the-boutonniere-oh-my-gosh-I-hope-I-don’t-stab-him-but-I’m-going-to-smile-anyway” photo. The group all meets up at one of the houses and everyone piles into the backyard to get those last-minute photos before it’s time to head into the dance. When they finally arrive, the happy couple dances the night away, looking into each other’s eyes, they can’t stop smiling. That slow song begins to play. He gently grabs her hand and pulls her close. She rests her head on his chest as they sway back and forth to the soft ballad. In that moment, it’s as if everything is perfect and she doesn’t want the night to end.

If I could go back and relive my prom, this is how I’d want it to be. Of course, things don’t always work out the way you want them to. I wouldn’t say I had a terrible experience, but I definitely think it could have been a lot better. However, instead of choosing to make the most out of my situation, I wallowed in my own “misery.”

Let’s rewind to junior year. Now, at my school, we have two proms…one during junior year and one during senior year. So junior prom was okay. However, I guess you could say I had expectations. It was during my junior year when I got into my first relationship and I remember feeling so excited because I thought I finally had someone who’d do all the cute couple-y things with me, including going to prom. However, we broke up a few months before so I was to fly solo for this one. I ended up going with a group of friends, but they weren’t people I was super close with. Heck, I didn’t even know a couple of them…they went to a different school but apparently other people in the group knew them and asked them to come. I bought this really nice dress, it was floor-length, a blue ombre design, and it sparkled. It looked like your “stereotypical” prom dress. I didn’t get my hair or nails done because I figured they weren’t that important.

My ex ended up not going to prom…it’s not really his thing, which I was kind of thankful for because I think if I had to see him there, it would have made things a lot more difficult for me. But that’s not to say it wasn’t. Everywhere I looked, it seemed as though everyone was paired up and having a good time. And here I was, standing with a group of people, awkwardly swaying side to side. Not a good time. Looking back, yeah, it’s an experience I’d rather forget because it was anything but picture perfect, but everyone’s experience is different. Everyone has a different opinion.

Fast forward to senior year. Prom season was here and I was actually looking forward to it. I was planning on going with a group, a group of people I was closer to and actually considered good friends. We all pitched in to rent a party bus. It was going to be a good time. I honestly wasn’t expecting to get asked, but I did. I’ll never forget either. So…I’m a band kid…and I’m sure most of you judge us as being the awkward social outcasts of high school. While there may be some truth to that, I don’t think anything will compare to this situation. So I was waiting in the band room and all of a sudden, one of my friends (he was more of an acquaintance) walked up to me and asked if he could speak to me in the hallway). So I followed him and he pulls out this small bouquet of flowers and basically asks me to go to prom with him. It was so awkward though because I could see him shaking and he was looking everywhere and he stumbled through his words. I could see how nervous he was and I felt bad so on impulse, I said no. Looking back, I should have been honest with him because when we got to prom, I had never felt so uncomfortable in my life. I still feel bad even thinking about it all over again because I was the jerk. Anyways, like with my junior prom, I can’t say I had a completely miserable time…the venue was a lot nicer than the previous one and for me, it was nice to be able to spend one last big night with my class before graduation. It was bittersweet I guess.

But yeah, that’s my experience with prom….not the best one, but not the worst either. I always say that I hope that one day I’ll get to relive prom in a different way. I don’t know what that means yet, but I know all it takes is the right guy to show me. I wanted to share this experience with you to let you know that not everyone’s prom experience is like the ones you see in the movies. Oh how we wish though, right? But that’s what makes it unique to my life. It was my experience and I lived through it. It definitely created lasting memories that I don’t think I will ever forget. Everyone’s experience is different, and each one is special, no matter the circumstance.

-beautifuldarkmystery

What was your prom experience like? Was it everything you had hoped for? What were some of the positives and negatives?

high school prom experience.

While most young girls imagine what their wedding will be like, I imagined what my high school prom would be like. From what I saw in the movies it looked absolutely perfect…the handsome guy asks the girl in a cute way, she says yes, they coordinate their outfits, he dresses in his tuxedo, she gets her hair and nails done and then slips into that gorgeous gown, he arrives at her house with the corsage and drops his jaw when he sees how gorgeous she looks as she walks down the stairs. Their parents take a hundred photos of them, they ride in a fancy limo with a group of friends, and spend the whole night holding each other and dancing the night away. That would be ideal for me, but this is life, and sometimes things don’t always work out the way you want them. I was one of those girls who never got that “perfect” high school prom experience.

I’ve been to three proms…two were for my school and one was for a friend at another school and now that I look back on it…I really wouldn’t have missed out on anything if I didn’t go to mine…well besides spending an evening with my friends and fellow classmates. But they weren’t completely horrible, I still had a lot of fun, but of course, I wish it could have been a little better.

I can barely remember my junior prom. I didn’t have a date, but I went with a group of friends…and I’m not saying this is a bad thing. It can actually be a lot of fun if you go with friends, but the group I went with I didn’t know very well. There was one girl who was my friend, but the rest were all acquaintances. We all met up at a restaurant to eat dinner together and then went to the dance. As soon as we got there, we all kind of just split up. I found a couple of my closer friends and hung out with them the rest of the night. I couldn’t help but feel slightly depressed as I looked around the room and saw everyone coupled up. My ex-boyfriend and I split up way before prom so there was no way that was going to happen. He didn’t even go. But I made the most of the night…took pictures with friends, even came out of my shell a little and danced a little. That was pretty much the whole night for me.

The next prom I went to was for a friend of mine. We met in an ASL class at a community college and he asked me if I wanted to go to his prom with him. He asked me over AIM, which I didn’t appreciate, but it was the thought that counted. Me, being the introvert I am, it was a little uncomfortable because I didn’t know any of his friends and it was his high school prom. This experience went a little better than my last…we met at one of his friend’s house, I got a corsage and I gave my first boutonniere, and the best part was…it was on a boat! That was pretty awesome. When we got on the boat, I saw everyone all dressed up…it was like my high school prom but it was on a boat filled with unfamiliar faces. He introduced me to some of his other friends and I kept getting complimented. They kept telling me how pretty I was and it made me feel so welcomed. That night was fun, except for there were a couple of awkward moments because I think he liked me as more than a friend but I didn’t feel the same way.

My senior prom is probably freshest in my memory, and it was a little better than the last experience. One of my friends in band asked me. I was in the band room with a couple of my friends and he comes up to me and asks if we could go out in the hall and talk. I agree and as soon as we were alone, I saw his hands shaking and he appeared to be so nervous. He handed me a small bouquet of flowers and asked if I would go to senior ball with me. This is where I should have been honest with him, but of course, I didn’t want to hurt his feelings because no one likes being rejected so I said yes. The entire night was so awkward for me…and even worse, my ex-boyfriend was there, dancing with other girls…even though we both knew his secret. It was almost like he was trying to make me miserable, but maybe that’s just in my own head. To this day, I regret not being honest with this guy. I feel like I was THAT girl…the one who said yes just so she could have a date to ball and I feel awful about it. I even made an effort to find him the week after ball and ask him if he had fun and I apologized for being so awkward.

So, even though I felt like some of those experiences could have been better, they were still some pretty interesting experiences. This just goes to show that this is real life…in some ways, it’s not supposed to resemble movies because movies are made up. This is real.  Nonetheless, I’ll take the memories and maybe they’ll make for somewhat good stories later on down the road.

-beautifuldarkmystery