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 By Jack Lepiarz June 10, 2006 This article is the first in a series of three concerning the end of high school. And I would to start this one by saying that Senior Prom is overrated. There. I said it. For someone that cannot wait to leave high school and head off to college, spending an entire evening, let alone an entire weekend with people that you have no intention of ever seeing again can be torture. Or, it can be a terrific way to wrap up the school year and share one last evening with your closest friends. In the past two weeks, I attended two proms and two prom weekends, both with their ups and downs. One of which was my own. The other was the prom of a Catholic girls' school where I can never, ever, visit again for fear of being lynched. But that aside, neither prom seemed fitting for what it was supposed to represent, which was the final night of celebration for the class of 2006. Perhaps that was what it represented for some people. For me, it represented a constant source of stress, irritation, and frustration. Furthermore, the disgustingly overgrown amount of baggage that goes along with prom left me wishing to be over and done with it. And now that I am, I would like to discuss it a tad. As I said earlier, prom is supposed to be a big night for seniors to enjoy themselves for what is probably the last time. But for me, prom represented simply another one of my many obligations. Obligations to school, obligations to work, and unnecessary obligations to people who unreasonable expectations. For the most part, it was unimportant, and usually a thorn in my side. The entire hassle of finding a date, finding a place to stay for prom weekend, and the numerous prom expenses left me wondering why in God's name I agreed to do this. And then I remembered that it was because of the baggage that goes along with prom. Prom has been romanticized in countless books, novels, and stories, and so everyone naturally assumes that it will be perfect, which is actually rarely the case. However, prom is still seen as "one of the most important nights in a girl's life," as my mother says. Alas, more baggage thrown on the luggage cart of life. I remembered that as I went to each prom, each with its own individual taste. At my prom, my date and I hardly spoke to each other. At the other, I felt like I had a Siamese twin. It occurred to me at both of these proms that I could only be responsible for other people's well-beings to a certain point, and after that, I had to let them be responsible for themselves. That is the lesson that I took out of my prom experience, and I hope that it will help me limit my baggage to nothing more than a carry-on bag. An overpacked bag practically bursting at the seams, but a single bag nonetheless. ------------ About the author: Jack Lepiarz is a senior at Madison High School. Born in Waco, Texas, he lived with the Big Apple Circus for much of his early childhood, eventually moving to Madison, New Jersey, where he now resides. Although he is often described as stubborn and egotistical, he tries to keep an open-mind towards new ideas and treat people the way he would like to be treated. Email: Jackwuzhere42@aol.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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