Here's to the Night

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, I’m sure you’ll agree that our society has made it blatantly obvious what season it is. Due to the recent climate, you know I can’t be talking about Spring. My fellow Inver Grovians, I’m talking about Prom Season.

You’ve seen the advertisements, the commercials and the mannequins in the mall wearing obscenely overpriced designer dresses. The way the department stores and magazines make it sound, prom is the ultimate dream night. But who am I to say that’s not exactly what it is? Many of us have looked forward to prom ever since we were little. The girls wait for their prince to find the perfect way to ask them to go, while the boys feel the relentless pressure of doing the actual asking. Once people have been paired up though, it’s all about finding the perfect thing to wear. Truly, prom is an extreme one-night fashion showcase.

Whether it’s wearing a dress straight from the cover of Teen Vogue or discovering the perfect gem of a dress in that downtown thrift store, our American proms celebrate our individuality and style. Unknown to many, however, is that prom is an international event celebrated by young adults all around the world. From country to country, the dress code can vary from ball gowns to blue jeans to no dress code at all. In some places matching flowers are required, while in other places they are seen as frivolous. The culture determines the tradition, and here in the United States our tradition seems to be…glamorous.

When we really sit and think about it though, in thirty years our dresses won’t matter. In thirty years, when we’re telling our children about our senior prom, the stories aren’t going to be about what designer we wore or how many maxed-out credit cards it took to acquire the right prom attire. No, the stories will be about what prom was originally created for, what proms around the world (formal or not) are celebrating: our graduation.

Prom is the last hoorah before we step on that stage and accept our diplomas. It is the last night to enjoy high school before our futures come to bust down our doors. I’m here to say that when you think about your senior prom, don’t dwell on the minor details. Only think about the moment, that solitary moment among hours of dancing and singing and laughing, when you raised a plastic cup of punch with your friends and said, with as straight of a face as you could manage, “Here’s to this night”