Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Prom Night

I didn't go to prom in high school. I was significantly overweight (which is why I go to the gym so often now), and most of the guys didn't talk to me that much unless they needed help with their homework or they were making fun of me.

I could have gone to prom with one of my guy friends, which is what I did for a few of the other school dances. But I always thought that if I did go to prom, it should be with someone I really liked and who felt the same way about me. There was something romantic about prom (maybe it was because of all the cheesy prom scenes from high school movies that I'd watched), and it didn't feel right to me to go with someone that I didn't have romantic feelings for. I'm not criticizing anyone who did attend prom with a friend, though, because I'm sure that can be fun too.

On prom night, I went to Dairy Queen and watched movies at home. I didn't tell my friends how much it bothered me to have to look at all their prom pictures when we were back in school; they were oblivious to how much it hurt me.

I've been thinking about it lately because even though the school year is now over, I still remember all the articles I've read about high school students who invited celebrities to their proms.

I don't know if anyone else has heard of it, but I guarantee you that the next time there's a homecoming dance or a prom, there will be more news articles about even more teenagers who want movie stars, musicians, and athletes to escort them. It reminds me of when I was in high school and I had a crush on Lance Bass, who was in the boy band N'Sync; he later turned out to be gay. I also had a crush on Ricky Martin, who also turned out to be gay. (My gaydar wasn't very good back then.)

Those articles bother me. I can understand the appeal of going with a celebrity to prom. Everyone has had a crush on a celebrity at some point. They often seem larger than life, and many of us (myself included) tend to create this imaginary image of them that often contrasts with who they really are.

But I think that many of those teenagers invite celebrities not just because they have crushes on them but because they want to be the center of attention. They want news articles to be written about them; they want to be on TV; they want all eyes to be on them on prom night.

I think it is nice when famous people accept those students' invitations. Contrary to many of those students' hopes, none of those invitations resulted in romantic relationships. But it is nice of those celebrities to take the time for their fans. I don't think it's nice when teenagers promote their invitations on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube and go "viral", which makes the celebrities feel pressured to say yes.

I think it'd be even nicer if those teenagers invited "the shy kid" or "the class nerd" to prom instead. I remember what it was like to be a nerd in high school, and I know how much it would have meant to me if I had been invited to go to prom.

But instead these teenagers make it clear that their expectations are set very high, as if they feel entitled to go out with Grammy winners or Olympic medalists. And I don't think that's right. I'm not saying that celebrities are better than regular people; they're not. But I don't think they should be pressured to go out with these kids, especially since it seems like those kids want celebrity dates not necessarily because of the celebrities themselves but because of what they get out of them.

What do you think of this new trend? If you could have gone out with a celebrity, who would it be? If you did go to prom, what was it like?

10 comments:

  1. That's really awful! Prom should be a celebration with your friends, not an attention-seeking event. Sigh!

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    1. Hi Talli,
      I know, right? I've had crushes on celebrities before, but I wouldn't ask them out just so I could be the center of attention.

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  2. Prom is THE most overrated event ever. The whole inviting a celebrity thing seems very Brady Bunch to me---always makes me think of when Marsha invited Davey Jones, hehe. And good point about it not being fair to make the celebrities feel the pressure.

    My daugher went to prom with a guy freind and seems to have had a lot more fun than her friends who went with their boyfriends and ended up sitting in a corner making out the whole time...not that that sort of thiing isn't fun, but they can do that anywhere. This was senior prom, and I agree with Talli -- the event shoud be about a celebration with your friends.

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    1. Hi Nicki,
      It's true that prom should be about a celebration with your friends, especially because the friends will be going their separate ways not long after prom. The first time I heard about a teenager inviting a celebrity to prom, I thought it was nice. Now way too many people are doing it every time a dance comes up; it's lost its meaning and it makes it seem as if the teenagers think they deserve celebrity status or something.

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  3. Like you, I didn't go to my prom either. I grew up in a very small town and by the time prom time rolled around I was chafing to get out of there. Literally like a dog pulling at its collar.

    As for the celebrity trend....I think it's weird. I feel like those invitations sort of shame celebrities into attending and it says a lot about a generation of kids who actually expect celebrities to take note of them. With social media we can all be stars and I think that's the message internalized and displayed by those types of invitations.

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    1. Hi Johanna,
      I was eager to get out of my small town too; I wanted a different life. Social media helps pressure celebrities to go on "dates" with those teenagers. The teens get other people on social media to send messages on Twitter or Facebook to those celebrities and pressure them into going to the dances. So those famous people have to deal with hundreds or even thousands of messages, which makes them feel guilty if they say no; that's what those teens with a strong sense of entitlement are counting on. And yes, I think that's the teens' way of becoming "stars"; I don't think it's right.

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  4. Yeah... I used to think it was nice when like one or two people did it. But as you say, the trend's increasing, and it feels like the fun aspect to it is going away, replaced by people demanding attention when really they don't deserve it.

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    1. Hi Misha,
      I used to think it was nice too, but like you said, it's like people are doing it to get attention for themselves. I think celebrities do it partly because they end up looking like the bad guy if they say no; that's what those teenagers are counting on. And I don't think that's fair for the teenagers to put celebrities on the spot like that.

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  5. I had no idea celebrities even accepted such invitations. I might have exploded with nervousness if I'd ever asked one of my favourite musicians or authors and they'd actually accepted.
    Can't remember now if any of the girls in my grade had no dates for the prom. Our situation was a bit different, though. We were only 15 girls in my graduating class and all the boys came from the two boys' schools affiliated with our girls' school. Those of us who weren't dating anyone at the time got fixed up with friends of our friends' boyfriends. Lucky for me, I thought the guy I got set up with was kind of cute :-) We saw each other for coffee a couple of times after that and then I went to Turkey for the summer and never saw him again!
    It's funny how people make a huge deal of prom when, really, you've got sooooo many years of life to live after that one night.

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    1. Hi Deniz,
      I'm so sorry it took me so long to respond; I've been so bad about blogging lately! I'd be really nervous too if a celebrity accepted my invitation; even now I still have the occasional crush on a cute actor or musician. I think your school's idea of prom sounds fun, because that meant that everyone got to go. I wish we could have done that. And you're totally right about how prom is just one night. But you know how it is in high school; back then it almost seemed like high school was the whole world.

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