On the surface, prom seems like the most magical experience of high school.
But for a lot of juniors, the thought of prom has gone from exciting to exhausting.
The stress starts early, with drama on both sides of Thanksgiving break as single juniors jockey for the perfect date.
Then a community Facebook page, created with the seemingly pure intention of ensuring everyone’s dress was unique, turned out to be an outlet for unchecked overanalysis.
And good luck trying to find a hair salon with availability—somehow, every salon had been fully booked for March 26 since October.
By prom day, juniors are more excited for it all to be over than to actually go—and is that really surprising?
With constant pressures for everything to be perfect, it makes sense why some students are overwhelmed with the whole prom thing.
March is notoriously the most stressful month of the school year. If students aren’t waiting on their SAT scores, they’re studying nonstop for them. The third marking period is coming to a close, even though it seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. And that’s before considering that, for many juniors, the college search is just beginning—and with it comes the harsh realization of just how much effort—blood, sweat, and tears—they’ll need to put into every application.
Even so, the unspoken expectations from peers are the real culprit. Let’s face it: even when it’s not prom, people are constantly afraid of being judged, and that fear alone, although some won’t admit it, drives a lot of the stress in the junior class.
It’s understandably hard to recognize this when we’re so preoccupied with the craziness of junior year. The only way to break the cycle is to not overthink every move and follow Nike’s advice: just do it.
Like junior year itself, prom is supposed to be a fun experience, not a test of perfection.
Maybe instead of stressing over the right dress, date, or pictures, everyone should focus on letting go of the pressure to impress and simply enjoy the moment.
Perhaps then, for the first time, junior year and prom can finally be what they were meant to be—a chance to make memories, not meet expectations.
