Prom: Then vs Now

Prom has become a highly-anticipated event over the years. Along with the anticipation comes a lot stress to try and make it a perfect night. A portion of this stress comes from finding the perfect way to ask your date. The promposal process has become much more elaborate since our parents and teachers were in high school. Today, asking a date to a dance takes lots of planning, creativity, and help from friends.

When our parents were in high school, their promposals were straight up and simple. They would approach their dates and ask, “Would you like to go to the dance with me?” This was an effective and easy way to ask their crush.

Today, high schoolers take a totally different approach when asking their date to prom. Some people expect a dramatic promposal; one including flowers, signs, food, teddy bears, candles, etc. These expectations make promposals a much bigger deal than they were in the past.

The night of prom itself is also a very stressful and anticipated event. Many girls spend the whole day getting their hair, makeup, and nails done. Finding a dress can also start months before they are even asked. Many guys have to rent an expensive tux and try and match their date’s dress perfectly. All of this preparation becomes very expensive and time-consuming.

In the past, prom was much more laid back. My mom said that her sister made her dress for senior prom. She barely spent any money or effort getting ready. The dresses, suits, and hairstyles were also much wackier than they are today. The mullets, big curls, and unique dresses made for awesome prom pictures.

Our very own vice principle, Mr. Dols, used to kill it with the ladies. Mr. Dols also killed the “just rolled out of bed” look with his white t-shirt and messy mullet.

Just in case one wasn’t enough. Here is a picture of Mr. Dols at his senior prom. It looked like he actually tried a little harder at this dance, adding a nice red bow tie and a haircut.

Another key difference is that pictures were taken at the dance, rather than in an elaborate production at some photogenic location. This led to pictures without parental supervision (and ill-advised decisions) as Mr. Witchger and his now-wife demonstrate here. The low quality of the picture is the result of Mr. Witchger’s embarrassed parents destroying all but one wallet-sized copy of the photo.

Mr. Witchger does not recommend imitating this picture, as it will lead to years of your parents bemoaning the fact that they don’t have any decent pictures of you from high school.