Jam Packed: Grad & Prom

Most schools have their proms before graduation, but since Mary Ward is so self-directed we decide to have ours after graduation. I was at football practice today and I was listening to stories about my team-mates’ proms when I was asked when my prom was. “On the 25^th…after graduation…the same day,” I replied. In response, I got weird looks. It truly is pretty unusual to have grad and prom on the same day and it has its negative aspects, as well as positive.

Many people would hate the idea of having such two big events on the same day, mainly because of the lack of time to prepare. The ladies would more likely hate having the two on the same time more than the gentlemen. Why? Obviously because we women take decades to get all dolled up. Graduation ends at 12 pm, leave some time for photo-ops, that brings it to 12:30. Prom starts at 6:30, if you want to be fashionable late, then 7. Subtract the amount of time driving around getting from hair salon, to make up place, back to your house (or a friend’s house), to the pick up location of your ride (if you have one), plus the famous pre-prom pictures, and don’t forget all the tiny little mishaps that will most definitely happen – that leaves around 4.5 hours to get ready. Not nearly enough time to do everything in between! If the two most important events of one’s high school life were placed on the same day, unnecessary stress will surely build up. Despite the lack of time on the day of prom and grad, I still see the perks of having them within the span of 24 hours.

Most of my friends from different schools have already had their prom. They took the full day off school to get ready for the evening – yes even the boys ditched classes. They went to prom, danced the night away, and partied until the wake of dawn during the after parties. They took the weekend to recover and then BAM! Monday is here. There are still classes. The party is over. What a reality check. I personally went to an after party for a bunch of my friends’ prom and even though I didn’t go to their prom itself, I didn’t want to come to school that Monday. The advantage of having prom after graduation is that there is no more work to worry about, exams are finished and you know that you have conquered high school. Now is the time to really party. Knowing that you have earned your high school diploma and walked across the stage gives you all the more reason to have fun and let loose!

Overall, I think having grad and prom on the same day is a great idea. There’s no looking back after prom. Only maybe if you’re manager of the yearbook.