Prom! That was the highlight of the year for my highschool! Everyone rushed to the stores and looked at every dress until they found the perfect one. There were mermaid style, long ball gown, strapless, halter top, and every color you could imagine. It was the perfect time. The one night every girl waited for. The night we got to feel like a princess. My junior year was one of the more stressful years and I couldn't wait for prom. I bought a beautiful ivory, strapless, Princess style dress! I loved it!! From the moment I put it on I felt beautiful! I just needed a date to make the night complete! But here's the sad truth: nobody asked me! I waited and waited but nobody asked me! Luckily I had a very handsome friend who didn't have a date either so we went together but still my night felt ruined! I of course danced with my best friends and all us girls partied till we couldn't stand it. Then the first slow song came on and I realized how alone I was. My "date" was off with another girl dancing, so I sat at a table by myself! Junior year prom was a mix between the best night of my life and the absolute worst!
Senior year!! The year that makes all the tears and hard work worth it! Of course I was excited but it was bitter sweet! It would be the last time I'd walk down the halls of my highschool and talk to the teachers like they were family! The only thing that was more exciting than graduation was of course PROM!! We were seniors! The queens of prom! All the attention was on us and we couldn't be happier! Now I'm from a small town and as you can imagine were all a bit redneck! So this year for my prom I wanted to do something crazy- so I bought a camo dress! Full fledged mossy oak camo with the hunter orange lace and the beautiful heels that matched! I was once again so excited to show it off during the annual walk in, where we parade through the school with our dresses and everyone ooo"s and aaa"s over us! This time I was prepared to get a date no matter what! I asked several guys and no one said yes! Once again I was dateless! But I bought a 1000 dress so damn it I was going to prom! My beautiful cousin and I are the same age! She lived several hours away and we don't get to hang out much so I had a brilliant plan to ask her to come to prom with me! It would be fun for both of us I thought! And it was!! We danced! She had a blast with my friends and overall we had so much fun. But then the last song of the night was a slow song and a guy asked her to dance and of course I was supportive! I was like go, go dance with him, but it hurt! It hurt a lot! Once again here I was on the "best night of my life" sitting at a table by myself! All those feelings of I'm not pretty enough, or skinny enough, there must be something wrong with me came crashing down on me!
Well prom ended, and I graduated from highschool!! Now I'm in my third year of college and on a recent trip home I found my old dresses. I put each one on and danced around my old bedroom! It brought me to tears! I've come so far from the girl sitting at that table all by herself! So to all the boys who neglected to ask me to prom: thank you!! Thank you for teaching me that there's nothing wrong with me! I'm beautiful and wonderful! That prom was not and in fact will never be the best night of my life! That one moment does not define who I am! So thank you for making me realize that I love myself and that it took courage to sit at that table by myself! Thank you for letting me be the hero in my own story and for letting me be the princess I always knew I was, regardless of anyone asking me to prom! Thank you for that! Thank you for teaching me that even though I felt lonely I had a wonderful time! I collected memories with the people I love and that was worth it! I wouldn't change that moment for the world!
