Do you remember your senior prom?

I did not go to my senior prom.

I remember that I didn’t go because I chose to go and see Sunset Boulevard at the theatre instead. I had a date lined up and everything so I felt bad for letting him down but I have always been in love with the theatre and, at the time, I was terrified that the bullies were going to use prom night to finally follow through with all their threats so it was a no brainer for me.

I had a great time. My date was this beautiful girl in my class, whom I had never gone out with. I asked her about two months ahead of time, and lo and behold she said yes! We had a really fun time, and dated over the summer. She was a really good dancer and taught me how to dance better. Lots of people got drunk at the after party, but I never liked drinking to the point where I started acted stupid or puking or something, so I did not get drunk. Plus, the one time I had gotten drunk before that, I took all my clothes off, and I absolutely did not want to do that in front of my date, at least at the party. It is one of the reasons why I do not like to drink too much to this day. I always figure if I did it once…
It had a tacky theme to be sure, but when I was 18 I was pretty clueless, and so were my peers, so it figures.

All I have are sad memories. It was too crowded, the music sucked and the food was blah. The sad part was my father, in all his clued-outness, missed the Father/Daughter dance as he opted for a smoke outside instead. That put into tears.

I couldn’t wait for the evening to end.

I really hope you have a great time.

Yes, and my Dad slipped me an extra twenty bucks before I went out the door.

There were 1,000 graduating seniors in 1961, my senior year. About 100 attended the Senior Prom, and they were the ones who were known as the Soch (slang for social) or posh (rich).

I was not in that group.

I took a close friend that had just broken up with her boyfriend. We went as friends, had a great meal before with some other friends. We had a good time at the prom. We were at the party after and went on a beer run. We went into town and found her boy friend holding hands with another girl, my sister.

@Adirondackwannabe That’s awful, but really hilarious…couldn’t help but laugh!

@Fly Laugh away. It’s funny now. Needless to say I didn’t get lucky that night.

The then love-of-my-life, or love-of-my-senior year left for a summer in Europe before the prom so I went with a good buddy. It was OK., very unromantic and unmemorable, but also not embarrassing or unfortunate.

Oh yeah, and we had a beautiful cake at our prom. One of my buddies and I walked up to look at it. I don’t know why. He looked at me, said this looks good, and took a bite out of it. Then he looked at me as he’s chewing and said I had to try it. So I did.

Never had one.

Have a safe and fantastic time, @Fly! Dance until your feet get sore!

Thanks, @bkcunningham!

@Fly As you can tell, mine was involved with a lot of alcohol. I would seriously advise against it knowing what I know now. We were lucky. We survived to live the rest of our lives. There’s a lot of living to do after your prom.

@Adirondackwannabe Not to worry, my friends and I are going to a 24-hour handmade pizza and pretzel shop afterwards. So much better than getting drunk and forgetting the whole night. :)

@Fly Good job lady.

I went to four different proms. The first (I was a Sophomore and went with a Senior), the second (I was a Junior but in charge of the prom and went with another Junior), the third (we were both Seniors), and the fourth (I was a Freshman in college and he was a high school Senior). The fourth was by far the best. I went with a gay guy who was not yet out to his parents. I was his “beard.” We went to the home of these two older gay guys we both knew who redid my hair and spruced us both up before sending us off in their boat of a car with cranberry leather seats. We had a ball and when he dropped me off at home, my Mom had locked me out of the house (on purpose) because she had just figured out that I was gay . . . what a mess. My little brother unlocked his window and I climbed back in that way, dress and all . . .

@Kayak8 I’m actually going with a gay friend of mine as well! I’m not really his “beard” per se since it’s common knowledge that we’re just going as friends, but he is not out to his parents yet. It doesn’t have all the complications of having a real date and he is already in my group of friends, so I’m really looking forward to just being able to have fun!

@Fly It was a great prom for me as I was able to relax and just enjoy the evening! Good luck and have fun!

Oh yes, I remember it. Parts are a little vague from the liquor, but overall I remember it very vividly.

I remember it, but not very well. I wasn’t drunk or anything, I didn’t drink at all, generally I don’t. I had “graduated” high school mid year, but went to my prom and my official graduation even though I had not been in school in months. So, I was kind of removed from the social scene with high school friends, kind of had been anyway, even before I had left high school. The music kind of sucked I think, I just remember thinking I have a better time dancing when I am out at a club downtown.

The guy I was sort of seeing at the time was a lady’s man. He told me that he would be attending all of the senior proms in the surrounding area. I asked him who was taking him to my school’s prom, because it wasn’t me. Jerk.

A classmate who didn’t have a girlfriend asked me to go. We had a really nice time until near the end of the evening. I discovered he had been drinking and was too drunk to drive. I drove him home in his car, and another couple followed us and drove me home. It wasn’t a problem for me, but I bet he had one heck of a hangover the next day and had to endure ribbing from his friends.

@Fly I hope you have a wonderful time. The after-party plans sound wonderful!

May 1988
This girl I worked with asked me to her senior prom. We had been friendly for about six months and hung with a group of mutual friends. I knew she “liked” me all along, but I agreed to go to her prom as just a friend.

Between the bad pre-prom Chinese food and the after-prom ride to the beach, something changed my mind. So, at the end of the night, on her doorstep (with our friends looking on from the rented limo), I asked her out. Then, I kissed her for the first time.

The following year, she came to my senior prom.

We’ll be married sixteen years this August.

Have a wonderful prom @Fly.

@cprevite, that is so very sweet, beautifully written and very romantic. Congratulations.

I was dating a college freshman who was going to go to the prom with me, but because of a job, he had to go home earlier than he thought. I was heartbroken. My friends fixed me up with a guy who was very good looking, but I didn’t know him at all. We had a good dinner in the hotel where the prom was. Quite fancy. My date had nothing much to say and was a real bore. He could dance passably, but not well. After the dance, it was the tradition to stay up and watch the sun come up over the lake. I asked to go home earlier. I couldn’t imagine spending 3 more hours with this guy. It was nice of him to be my escort and I was glad I got to go to the prom, but mostly because I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it.

My GF at the time fucked another guy.

I do; it was three years ago. I liked it a lot. I’m someone who likes going to dances, so I went to most of the dances. The only problem was that I was still in the closet at the time, so my date was a girl and no one knew that I was gay, but it didn’t affect my ability to enjoy it (in fact, it was the girl who asked me out. Crazy times ;)

I remember my friends and I all met at my house before the dance and took a ton of photos (same with junior prom…my house was a good meeting place). And of course we all took a limo to the dance and that was awesome.

And yeah, we had a big party afterwards with a fair amount of boozeahol. All in all, a good experience. That, grad night, and the fashion show were the high points of senior year for me.

I went there with one of my close and best buddy. He was very upset due to some family issues, however we enjoyed, danced and had some drinks and meals. He still thanks me for this.

I went to a small all girls boarding school and we all went to the prom each year. So I actually went to 4 of my own and 4 of the boys school that was our brother school. They were all fun. There was a group of 6 of us who always did most everything together including the tables at the prom, so it was always a lot of laughing as boarding school stories were told. The only cost involved was the price of your dress or tux rental. It was not the big deal that I see kids going through these days. The after party was always at the house of a “day hop” who lived nearby. And only a whisper of booze if you could sneak it into the party, none at the prom! (which was always in the gym. We would plan for weeks how to decorate and make it magical for the night)

I mostly remember the before and after. I remember my mother taking pictures and the excitement of getting ready. I also remember leaving the dance and going to the park with my boyfriend. We kissed under the moonlight.

I still have my dress, some 20+ years later.

I didn’t go but if I had, I would have taken and paid for the standard posed photos to give to family and a few friends to remember the times with.

My stepdaughter just went to hers and we bugged her to do the portrait which she did so I could make copies to share with her sets of grandparents. We can look at this picture and it’s not just her prom, it’s a snap of time where she was no longer a child but a jr. adult.

I hope your prom is fun!

Have a wonderful time tonight, girlie. <3

Have a wonderful night, laugh and giggle til your belly hurts!

She sounds like a wonderful person, @augustlan. You must be very proud. I hope she makes some fantastic memories.

Haha, well it wasn’t too long ago for me, but yeah the memories are still fresh.

We had prom junior year actually; I was so, so sick but I managed to spend a couple hours there, even hit the dance floor despite the tubes sticking out of my arm, it was a good time in the middle of a bad time. I didn’t have a date but I was with good friends.

Senior year we had another dance called senior dinner dance, and that was my favorite high school dance experience. I danced with my friend’s gay cousin and had a blast with my friends. There’s a certain feeling of unity that comes about among a senior class getting ready to go separate ways, and it was thick in the air that night. After the dance a group of us slept over at my friend’s house, we started out in a tent until it started to downpour and thunder deafeningly, at which point we made a mad dash into the house. Good times.

@bkcunningham Thanks. She is wonderful! :)

Two months ago. I had a lot of fun :)

So @Fly… how’d the prom go??

@cprevite It was really fun! I had a great time. And no drunken after parties, I promise!

@Fly: Excellent! I’m glad you had a good time.

And yeah, save the “drunken after parties” for college. After midterms. After finals. After tuition is due. After…

@Fly Good for you. High five.

@Fly, did you have a fancy prom dress? Short or long? Puffy with crinoline or tight and form hugging?

Yes, yes, yes. I went with my bf at the time, who at the time I was really in to. But honestly, thinking back now, I had more fun at all the other proms I went to. I hope you have a great time!!!

@bkcunningham This is the dress I wore. :)

Very pretty, and nice glimpse of bare leg!

@Fly, I love the back on that dress. Absolutely beautiful. The slit in the front, the ruching around the bust, everything about it is perfect. I would love to have seen the faces on the workers and patrons when you walked in the pizza/pretzel place looking like a princess.

A beautiful dress! Good choice.

@bkcunningham @Sunny2 Thanks!

@Fly: How about a picture of you inside that lovely dress?

@gailcalled If you’re friends with @augustlan on Facebook, you should be able to see some pictures. :)

This works differently in Germany. Instead of the prom there’s the final formal ball of teenage dance studios. And yes, I do remember this.