Under (Prom) Pressure

Shifra Zuckerman ‘18

Prom is often the most festive and crucial night in a high school student’s life. Such an exhilarating night comes with many stresses for both parts of the date. The dress, the tuxedo, the corsage, nevermind the promposals – oh, the promposals! – all seem to direct every teenager into panic mode.

“Prom is such a big deal because it’s a milestone that we’ve heard about and have looked forward to ever since we were little,” junior Rachel Bonder said. “You take cool pictures, get all dressed up and have fun with friends. It sounds like a great night.”

Although prom is in February, all of the girls’ chaos begins much earlier than expected.

“I’ve been thinking about my prom dress for as long as I can remember,” junior Sammi Glennon said. “However, I started really looking for it in September this year.”

A girl’s preparation for prom is evidently more time consuming in comparison to boys, especially while trying to find the perfect dress. However, boys do have some thinking to do in order to impress their date.

“I will start thinking about my promposal around February 13th,” junior Elijah Taitel said. “Just kidding. I will start thinking about it around the beginning of December.”

One of the best parts of getting in prom mode is watching a promposal happen. There are many paths the proposal can go. It could be sentimental, Instagram worthy, or even cute and simple.

In past years at GOA, the bar has definitely been set high; although, not many are feeling the heat of the competition this year.

“I think there is a little bit of promposal competition, but it’s healthy competition,” junior Andy Antiles said. “It’s like capitalism: it makes everyone’s even better.”

Through the variety of stresses, the most common stress shared between both sides is obtaining a date.

“It is completely stressful not knowing who is going to ask you,” junior Rebecca Landau said. “I think almost everyone is anxious about that.”  

If you’re feeling the prom-fever, don’t worry too much. Once everyone finds their date, the perfect promposal and the outfit, the prom stresses will all be over.

Enjoy your special night this year juniors and seniors!