On May 13 the day had come: Prom was here. And with that my last major (school) event here in the USA. Isn’t it crazy how the time has just flown by? I remember having my first American school dance in November just like it was yesterday. But between then and Prom months have gone by with a lot of other experiences and even one other school dance I went to was between then and Prom. (So in the end I went to 3 school dances! At the beginning of the year I thought it was only gonna be one; Prom.) But anyways. Prom. Here we go!
My high school’s Prom was at a ballroom of a hotel in my city. The theme was of course “A Tale as Old as Time” since beauty and the beast was like everywhere lately. Juniors and Seniors were able to go, but also underclassmen as long as they had an upperclassmen as a date.
I went with one of my friends; he was my date for the night. He asked me a few weeks prior to prom and after that the planning began. Beforehand I wanna tell you: planning our Prom night is way more complicated than you imagine it. Everybody wants to have it their way which makes it hard to please everyone and yourself. Also, many people had already been planning their first prom a long time ago which made it kinda hard for me as an exchange student to fit into those plans. But in the end I had a great time and that’s what counts.
Early that Prom-Saturday I went to my host families hairstylist and got my hair and my makeup done. I spend probably 3 hours at her salon, since she wasn’t only working on me. Soon after that I met with my date at the photo location. We took many pictures that day and honestly I feel like that is the most important part of Prom: the photo session. And yes: we got a lot of cool pictures! I’m sure I’ll be happy every time when look back at them in the future.
After that me and the others went to eat at a restaurant and we had to pass some time there since the only reservation we were able to get for that day was honestly a little bit early. So we had appetizers and our food. We talked a lot and spend about 2 hours there. Then we drove to the hotel which was our prom location. Prom was gonna start at 8pm but we were way to early since we got to the hotel at 7pm. But the mall was close, so my best friend and I persuaded everyone else in the group to go to the mall in our prom clothes. When we got there some people gave us a few weird looks but honestly: it was really fun!
Last but not least we finally went to the real dance and there I was: at the PROM. Everyone looked absolutely gorgeous and was dancing, talking and taking pictures. They had set up a room with chairs and tables, a dance floor, a little snack bar and a photo booth room. Even though I am a dancer, my favorite thing wasn’t the dance floor and the music. It was the photo booths. The pictures I got from those are just the best memories and I’ll keep them forever! They turned out super cute! But also, I had my first real American slow dance that night with my date. It was kinda like you imagine it in the movies when they play a slow song and the guy asks you if you wanted to dance. 😉 Sadly my school didn’t do a After-Prom which is why we went to a friend’s house afterwards to watch some movies together.
All together it was a fun night and, even though stressful, a really great experience!
Now I only have 3 weeks left till I have to go home which is just crazy. The time has flown by and I have to get ready to go home. I’m excited and sad at the same time. It’s really bittersweet to think about.
– Hannah, Virginia
