Just Like a Book: The Perfect Prom Night

During all of last week, prom was the biggest concern on my mind. I was worried about my dress, my hair (not that I have much of it), my shoes, and my date. So I waited all week, and formed expectations, and got all excited. I went eyelash shopping, wrote a half-dozen articles, and generally fretted all week. And let me tell you, it was not what I expected at all.

My day started off pretty early, and I started to get ready at about eleven. A good friend of mine came over because he wanted help getting ready, and that was a lot of fun. We talked about our plans for the night, and he helped me get ready as well. When my date arrived, we took pictures (as usual), and pretty soon I was itching to quit taking them. We then moved the picture-taking party to school, where I got even more uncomfortable. You can’t tell from the pictures, but I really wanted to get out of there!

Speaking of pictures, I promised to show you guys my dress, and here it is! I kept it a secret all week. The pearls on my collarbone were inspired by Chanel’s spring show, and I also put them on my ear. It matched the gems and pearls on the upper part of my dress. I can honestly say I’ve never felt so pretty in my entire life!

In the first picture, that’s me and my date. In the middle, two of my really good friends during the open gym time for picture taking. I honestly think the last picture is the best one! My mother randomly took it, and I and my date were laughing about some joke I can’t remember. But I thought it looked the best because it was completely natural.

When we got to prom, we walked promenade, which wasn’t nearly as terrifying as I thought. The first two dances were slow; we danced to them, but didn’t participate in a single slow song after that. For whatever reason, my date was terrified of dancing! So I was left to my own devices; I danced with friends all night, and even invented a dance move called the “Elderly Person.” It consists of a lot of cane-and-back-ache-pantomiming. It was a big hit.

I was actually planning on going to a house party after prom; this is where the unexpected things start to come in. I was left standing in the rain for ten minutes in the parking lot while my date wandered off to...actually, I’m not sure what he was doing. I was starting to feel really bad. And then, I get a message from…a certain person, one that I care about a lot, but had decided he had other interests. He asked me how prom was and I couldn’t keep from telling him how upset I was. After I got home, he offered to dance with me. I was elated.

Now, this is the time to say that I was skeptical of his motives. I still am, to a degree. But he met me on the square to dance in the gazebo. It was still raining, so we left to go to my grandparents’ house, where we talked for hours. Finally, he asked me to dance, and it was to “Michitant” by Bon Iver. I can’t put it into words how perfect that was. And in the middle of the dance, I asked, “What are you thinking about?” He answered, “I was thinking of kissing you.”

And then he did

That’s where it really felt surreal. I literally felt like I was reading my life out of some novel, like Looking for Alaska, or was watching some high school movie. And it was really something special. I’m not saying that we’re getting married now, or anything of that sort, but it made my night.

I say all of this to make a point: Life is unexpected. Of course, you probably already knew that. But this especially applies to prom. Your hair never turns out the way you expected it to, nor does your night. But you just have to roll with it. I did, and I can’t put it into words how amazing everything turned out. Sometimes, you just have to go with the flow, and when you learn to do that, you have the best experiences. I’ve learned that you just have to take whatever may come and make the best of it. Because if you do, you’re likely to have a better time than with what you were planning in the first place.

I hope your prom was just as eventful as mine (or maybe not). In any case, I hope you had fun! Just remember to have a good time no matter what, and that life can deal you a hand of cards that’s better than the one you were hoping for. You just have to trust in that, and not worry so much.