Day 11: Prom For One

As prom season quickly approaches, the stress over finding a date for the big dance increases. Seniors go out of their way to find a date, even if their “date” is a friend.

While it is common to see students attend Homecoming without a date, there is a stigma against going to prom single.

“Teenagers sometimes have this romanticized view of what prom is supposed to be,” activities director Elizabeth Valero said. “It’s thought to be a night that’s really romantic and made for couples, when in reality it’s just a dance that is just as much fun with a good group of friend.”

By going to prom without a date, one can find time to enjoy themselves rather than going with someone they do not know very well.

“Unless it’s your significant other, I think going without a date is better because you have more freedom to do what you want,” senior Delaney Richman said. “You don’t feel attached to whoever you decided to go with and how much fun you have is solely based on what you want to do rather than what your date may want to do.”

In the rush to grab a date, seniors oftentimes end up going with a date that they barely know. While this may result in getting to know a new person, it can oftentimes create an awkward evening.

“Memories with friends seem to be much more valuable than memories with a date anyway,” Richman said. “I’d rather look back on these types of events and remember the good times I had with friends rather than some random person I went to prom with.”

Making the decision to attend prom with a date is essentially making a commitment to spend the evening with that person.

“I think that if you make a commitment to go with someone it important to spend some time with them there,” Valero said. “So it’s nice when you want to spend the evening with that specific person. But if you’re making this extra effort to get a date because that what’s you think you’re supposed to do, you might find yourself with someone that you don’t really know very well, while you could have just gone with your group of friends.”