Experience (M.R., FEMALE, 19)- When I initially asked her about her prom experience she instantly replied horrible. This was surprisingly a story I haven't heard from her although we are very close. She had dropped out of high school so for prom to even be an option for her, she needed to be asked. She was asked by a guy she hooked up with once at a party and actually liked the possibility of going with him but she was going out with her girlfriend of the time and had been set on going with her. Unfortunately, a week before prom began, her girlfriend broke up with her. She found another date in time though and went to what would be her senior prom if she had still attended the school. She (drunkenly) made out with someone else in the limo ride there and when she arrived to the prom her ex-girlfriend had already found out about it which only stirred up more drama between them. She knew everyone there but she felt out of place because she no longer attended this school. She caught up with old friends and tried to reconnect with her ex-boyfriend there but he was not interested in doing so. Her date was pretty much left ignored although she assured me he didn't mind. Lastly, at the after party, her ex-girlfriend threw he a curve ball by walking up to her and kissing her then walking away multiple times. They ended up dancing together and trying to talk things out but her ex's friends eventually pulled her away.
It seems like her experience was filled with confusion and mistakes which is something I think is almost necessary in a right of passage. This is an experience she definitely learned from because she had so much to deal with at once. This prom experience seems so far from the basic prom outline I've been feed in movies. It made me question what she expected from this experience. All that she expected was good music and dancing and she said she was disappointed with the actual outcome. I asked her what she thought the importance of prom was. "Well on [the Wendy Williams Show] someone said that it's like the first red carpet of your life" she quoted something she had recently heard on her favorite talk show. I found this funny because it directly related to the discussion we had in class. She had a different take on this question though; she felt that it was a way to celebrate the torture of high school before going through the torture of college. After recently dropping out of college and also dropping out of high school, I knew that this was her actual honest opinion. I wish I had asked her how the experience is meant to celebrate (or make up for) high school trauma, but the question hadn't come to me until now.
PRE-PROM INTERVIEW (C.H, FEMALE, 17)-
I started off the interview by asking her what her expectations of prom are and she said that it was mostly based on what her parents prom experience was like. She expected to get an attractive date whom her parents approved of and to have a "fun, memorable, exciting and, enjoyable" night. She says that she would "plan every detail to a science" when it came for preparing for prom. Dress style, dress color, shoe style, hair, nails accessories would all be organized by the time the date comes. The goal of this is to make her prom as perfect as possible. She says she would choose a date carefully because it would be featured in the yearbook. Prom is apparently a huge tradition in her family so it is important to all of them how her prom experience.
PROM EXPERT (S.R, FEMALE, 39)-
As soon as the topic of prom was brought up, my mother instantly replied "it's fun you definitely should go!". It's safe to call my mother a prom expert because she went every year since her sophomore year of high school. She said that her first time going was the most special. She went with her senior boyfriend, wore a home-made dress my grandmother made with her high school colors. She also said that at the time, it was a big deal for a sophomore to go to prom. She didn't really remember her second prom to much but she went with a guy from another school. The third time she went alone to her senior prom but she thought it was important to go to her last prom. When I asked her why she believed prom was important she said that it was a right of passage and the "first opportunity to dress up and be fancy."
I found it funny how my mother considered this a right of passage and the first opportunity to dress up and go out because it directly correlated to the discussions we've had in class. I thought it was interesting how my mother pointed out that the first time she went was the most special. According to her description, the first time she went had more of the fairy tale affect, but I wonder if the significance of the night also came from it being her first experience with prom. Most people don't go to prom 3 times, and in our school prom is a one time event. But maybe going once is enough and all proms after that just get less significant. Another thing I found interesting was how much my mother fixated on what she wore. It seemed to be the only aspect of all three proms she remembered.
PROM EXPERT (S.R, FEMALE, 39)-
As soon as the topic of prom was brought up, my mother instantly replied "it's fun you definitely should go!". It's safe to call my mother a prom expert because she went every year since her sophomore year of high school. She said that her first time going was the most special. She went with her senior boyfriend, wore a home-made dress my grandmother made with her high school colors. She also said that at the time, it was a big deal for a sophomore to go to prom. She didn't really remember her second prom to much but she went with a guy from another school. The third time she went alone to her senior prom but she thought it was important to go to her last prom. When I asked her why she believed prom was important she said that it was a right of passage and the "first opportunity to dress up and be fancy."
I found it funny how my mother considered this a right of passage and the first opportunity to dress up and go out because it directly correlated to the discussions we've had in class. I thought it was interesting how my mother pointed out that the first time she went was the most special. According to her description, the first time she went had more of the fairy tale affect, but I wonder if the significance of the night also came from it being her first experience with prom. Most people don't go to prom 3 times, and in our school prom is a one time event. But maybe going once is enough and all proms after that just get less significant. Another thing I found interesting was how much my mother fixated on what she wore. It seemed to be the only aspect of all three proms she remembered.
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