The Prom: I Don’t think I Missed MuchBaile Estudiantil de Gala: No me perdí de mucho
By: Keith
I never had any interest in school dances. Least of all the prom. Yet, somehow I got asked to go every year of high school and wormed my way out of going each year. My excuses were pathetic and paper-thin every year. One year I told the girl who asked me that I was going fishing that day. And I remember thinking that was a pretty slick excuse, bulletproof. Looking back on it I should have just told the truth – I don’t like dancing or dressing up or otherwise pretending to be something I’m not. I knew, even then, that a bunch of high schoolers pretending to be debonair and riding in limos was the height of silly. But, I’m in the minority. Most high schoolers have loads of fun at dances and actually seem to see the prom as an end of high school rite of passage. That’s fine for them I guess; I don’t see any reason to rain on their parade even if I think it’s pointless. The prom was orginally intended to be a courting ritual, but it’s been turned into pointless, middle class extravagance these days.
History of Prom:
Prom began as nothing more than a middle class version of an upper class débutante ball. Parents wanted their kids to experience the thrill of a ball like the rich kids had. As simple as that – prom. It became standard practice in high schools sometime in the 1930′s but seems to have its roots in the late 1800′s in some North Eastern colleges. There’s a rather interesting history of it here for anybody who cares. It’s an interesting history but somewhat irrelevant to us today because any way you want to slice it our society has changed and the original intent of the prom is currently lost behind a veneer of confetti and after-dance debauchery. Whatever semi-innocent meat parade it started as is now and always gone.
So Which is it?
What do kids see in the prom? Is it as I suspect – an excuse for pimply high schoolers to act stupid and ride in a limo? Or is it something more that I’m missing? I’m not blind to the fact that I’m unusual. I don’t even like weddings and birthday parties. What makes me happiest is hanging out at home doing hobbies, not jumping around to a techno beat dressed in an ill fitting rented tuxedo and plotting how to get laid after the dance. Is there any use to the prom anymore? Is it a sign of rotting values? I have my opinion, but I’m just one guy.
Yo nunca tuve ningún interés en los bailes de escuela. Y el menor de todos el baile de gala llamado Prom. Sin embargo, de alguna manera cada año de la preparatoria fui invitado y cada año me escapé de ir. Mis excusas cada año fueron patéticas y demasiado obvias. Un año le dije a la niña que me invitó que me iba a ir de pesca ese día. Y recuerdo que en ese entonces la excusa me había parecido estupenda, a prueba de todo. Pero mirando hacia atrás yo creo que hubiera mejor haber dicho la verdad – a mi no me gusta bailar, o vestirme todo ataviado o de otra manera pretender el ser algo que no soy. Yo sé, incluso desde ese entonces, que un montón de preparatorianos pretendiendo ser elegantes y andando en limosinas era la epidemia de la estupidez. Pero, yo soy una minoría. La mayoría de los preparatorianos se divierten a montones en los bailes escolares y hasta ven el baile de gala Prom como el último rito de pase de la preparatoria. Está bien si eso es lo que a ellos les gusta yo me imagino; no veo ninguna razón por la cual arruinarles la fiesta aún si yo creo que es completamente inútil. El baile de gala Prom en un principio fue creado como un rito para cortejar, pero últimamente se ha convertido en una extravagancia de clase media sin sentido.
Historia del baile de gala Prom:
Este baile en un principio fue la versión de la clase media del baile de debutantes de la clase alta. Los padres querían que sus hijos tuvieran la experiencia de la emoción de un baile como la que los niños ricos tenían. Tan simple como eso – empezaron los bailes de gala Prom. Este se convirtió en un baile tradicional en las preparatorias durante los años 30’s pero parece tener sus raíces hacia finales del 1800 en algunas universidades del noreste. Tu puedes leer un poco más de esta historia bien interesante aquí en caso de que te interese. Es una historia interesante pero en estos días irrelevante porque de cualquier manera que le veas nuestra sociedad ha cambiado y el propósito original de este baile de momento se ha pedido tras una capa de confeti y libertinaje después del baile. El un tanto inocente desfile de mercancía que en un principio fue ya no lo es y se ha perdido para siempre.
Así que ¿cuál es?
¿Qué es lo que los muchachos ven ahora en el baile de gala Prom? ¿Es acaso como yo lo sospecho – una excusa para que los preparatorianos barrillentos se porten de manera estúpida y puedan andar en limosinas? ¿O es algo más que o no encuentro? Yo no estoy ciego al hecho de que soy algo inusual. A mí ni siquiera me gustan las bodas o las fiestas de cumpleaños. Lo que me hace feliz es quedarme en casa con mis pasatiempos, no brincando por todos lados al ritmo de la música tecno vestido en un esmoquin rentado que no me queda bien y planeando como tener sexo después del baile. ¿Existe algún uso para el baile de gala Prom hoy en día? ¿Es un símbolo de valores corrompidos? Yo tengo mi opinión, pero solamente soy un tipo.
I don’t think you missed much at all. Of course I wouldn’t know, I didn’t care enough about it to go either. But I haven’t come across prom-as-transformational- experience stories in any biographies I’ve read. So good on us.
Honestly, I think girls are more excited about the Prom than boys. Dresses, hair, nails, make-up, facials…..I had more fun getting ready for the Prom than the actual dance itself. Guys just shower before the dance and wear the color chosen for them.
Denise: Exactly! The lengths that girls go to dressing up and doing their hair for these dang things is baffling. Weddings are the same way. I go for the free food.
For me it was like being Cindarella.The beautiful dress, the ‘carriage’ drawn by 2 horsemen, dancing around the floor in the arms of my true love (ok maybe not true love, but it felt like it at the time).
It was soooo romantic. Now I’m like you, Keith. Being at home with my family, sharing hobbies together. Still like romantic walks on the beach, though.
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Debbie: You’re right. Girls get way more out of it that boys. I think boys resign themselves to it in the interest of possible, echem — relations afterwards. It’s almost comical actually how that works. But, good tea, a fire and a book is just what I want these days.
Not that I’m an expert on this topic, but it would appear the prom is an opportunity for high schoolers to get together, act wild, and then have sex afterwards. Hence, all the analogies about the high school prom dress.
Dennis: Agreed. The prom never fit with my personality so there wasn’t any point. Maybe if I had gone I would have enjoyed it and my perspective would be different. But, I’ll just have to go with the assumption that I didn’t miss anything.
Believe me, prom sucked. Especially if you were the kid with specs like me, who just sat in the corner, got drunk on a half-pint, and left at 8.
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Ben: I’ve been told through the years that the prom is basically for the popular kids and everyone else sorta just endures it. I was never popular so I figured there really wasn’t much in it for me. Although, the half-pint might have made it semi bearable
Well, the “girl” in me loved getting ready for Prom. It was more fun than the actual dance itself. I loved the preparation and quite frankly, I was hot. LOL!!!! Preparation for the wedding was even more fun. Could not wait to see Jon’s face at the alter. However, unlike Prom, I enjoyed the day even more than getting “Bride Ready”. (And I may I point out that not all guys get laid on Prom night? You can ask my date.
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i didn’t go to prom. guess it didn’t help that i moved in the middle of my senior year to another state and another school lol but somehow, i don’t think i missed much. i think the way girls go overboard for proms these days is utterly ridiculous. my girls know i’m cheap, so they better not be expecting a dress over $100 and that’s pushing it lol
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