What is Prom?

Prom is an elaborate event that young adults attend during their junior year of high school. Depending on the school, there can be an additional prom during senior year as well. It can be one of the most memorable nights of a teenager’s life, and to get ready for it, there is a lot of organization, preparation, and excitement.

Limos are typically rented to take the teenagers to the prom and several attendees ride in each one. The young people go to the location where it will be held, usually to a hall, and dance and eat while school chaperons are present. At this location, formal pictures are taken by a professional photographer and a professional DJ plays music. The school never allows alcohol to be present and should someone disobey the rules there can be severe consequences.

While many attendees select someone from their grade level to take as their date to the prom, there are those that go a different route. The junior and senior students can not only decide to take those from the freshman or sophomore classes, but they may also choose to take someone who doesn’t go to their school. It helps the students have more options of who they can share their special evening with.

Prom can end up being quite expensive. The teenage boys attending usually pay less for the cost of prom then the girls. They have the cost of renting the tuxedo and shoes, the prom ticket, a corsage for their date, their seat in the limo and their share of pictures. The teenage girls attending will usually have to pay more because they have the cost of their prom dress, which can sometimes be hundreds of dollars. In addition, each girl has to pay the cost of the prom ticket, her seat in the limo, her share of pictures, a boutonniere for her date, the cost of getting her hair and nails done and a few other additional expenses.

Should someone from the junior or senior class decide to take a date that is a lowerclassman or someone who doesn’t attend the same school, his or her prom costs can increase. He or she may then end up paying for most, if not all, of the expenses instead of them be relatively split down the middle. For example, he or she may have to pay for two seats in the limo, two prom tickets, and the full price of the pictures in order to cover personal costs as well as those of his or her date.

Due to all of the preparation that takes place to get ready for prom, the attendees usually start several months in advance, whether it be to pick out what they will be wearing or who their dates will be. While it can be an expensive night, it doesn’t have to be. Cutbacks can be made and extras can be skipped to have the total cost be much less than otherwise planned. Considering how much the night can cost, many students get a job or work extra hours at the job they already have in an effort to pay for it.

Despite all of the preparation that goes into prom and how much stress may be involved, it is usually found to be very much worth it. The students have the opportunity to enjoy themselves in a way that they aren’t normally able to. It can end up being a night that they remember all of their lives.