Reasons Why You're Better Off Missing the Prom?

Grounded? Homeschooled? Can't get a date? Don't feel bad that you're missing your high school prom. There are plenty of reasons why it's actually a good idea to skip it. Among them:

1) You're saving a lot of money.

A personal anecdote: In the months before her prom, my sister found out that the nearest store with good prom dresses was 120 miles away in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She made her boyfriend drive her there four times, each trip taking two hours each way, to narrow down her selection. When she had decided on a dress, our uncle had to slap down $300 for it. That, plus time and gas, was extremely expensive. Then, when the four-hour prom was over, she never wore it again.

Men have it a little better; they typically rent a tuxedo, which can run about $60. However, if they're taking their date out to dinner afterward, the bill is on them; a corsage, limousine to and from the prom, and dinner at a fancy restaurant can run him into the hundreds of dollars, all for a shallow and fleeting experience.

2) You aren't being pressured to get a date.

With few lucky exceptions, there are two kinds of prom dates: teenage girl-/boyfriends and one-time partnerships. The former are short-term relationships formed by experimenting teenagers who won't remember each other in two years, and are often stretched to the snapping point by the financial and emotional burdens of prom night. The latter are those who, in the weeks of pre-prom build-up, couldn't stand the pressure to get a date and were forced to ask the first guy or girl who crossed their paths. Relationships brought into play on prom night are, at best, tested and strained; at worst, shallow and pointless.

If you're reading this, it's possible that there was a certain gentle goddess/hunk of man whom you wanted so badly to invite, but didn't or couldn't for whatever reason. I know it's hard to have perspective in this moment, but try to see it the way you will in two years: If that person wasn't going to fall madly in love with you in the middle of the school cafeteria or sitting on a park bench, he or she isn't going to choose you forever while dressed in expensive clothes and contemplating underage drinking. Which brings me to . . .

3) You're safer.

As your local newspaper will tragically demonstrate over the next few days and weeks, drunk driving arrests and accidents, drug use, rape, and underage sex (sometimes leading to pregnancy) rise sharply around prom and graduation time. Factors include post-prom parties stocked with alcohol, the pressure to 'grow up' and experiment with sexuality and drugs, and the many college-age students brought in as dates and chaperones.

As you may already suspect (or, hopefully, as this article is beginning to convince you), teenagers often lack good judgment. It's what makes them buy $300 dresses and ask people they barely know to rent limousines for them. Now take that lack of experience and perspective and add alcohol and peer pressure. Even if you yourself don't partake, you could be on the scene when police break in to check for drugs or in the backseat of a drunk driver.

4) You're boycotting the school's waste of money and time.

Prom night is like a lame Christmas: The school seduces students into wasting hundreds of hours (which could be spent productively on exercise, study, relaxation, or preparing for college life) organizing a four-hour party. Plus, the school (which, if it's like most public schools, has to run fundraisers to afford textbooks, field trips, and other necessities) has to shell out for a DJ, decorations, catering, and more.

5) You aren't missing anything and you won't regret it.

If you were like me, you had a teacher or counselor tell you at least once, "High school is the best time of your life." Even if that was true for you, a prom is no way to celebrate those years. Don't symbolize the experience by blowing money on an expensive dress and wasting time planning for such a short party. All the excitement about prom is peer pressure, which is fleeting; let your high school years settle in your memory as strong foundations. Cement friendships with your classmates, explore fond memories, and prepare for the time ahead; you'll be better-off than those who chose the prom.

Still feel bad?