This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Albany chapter.

As we enter the second half of the school year here in the United States, students are beginning to shift their focus to the very popular event known as prom. I can recall chatting with girl friends about how fast the event was approaching and how excited I was. Now that I have graduated and moved on to college, I believe that I could have definitely gone without the prom experience for many reasons.

1. Promposals

Promposals are just like marriage proposals, but instead, you are asking someone to prom. In some schools, it can become a competition to see who can pull off the best spectacle to get all the girls talking. Boys will even go as far to disrupt a class just to ask a girl to prom. I was never asked to prom and I am totally fine with that because that person would have most likely received a rejection anyway. It can become awkward after facing a promposal rejection much like a marriage proposal.

2. Finding a dress

Prom dresses can become quite expensive, especially if buy your dress closer to prom season. They can run up to $1000 depending on the dress maker. The tricky part about buying a dress is making sure that no one has the same one as you because that would be a fashion faux pas. A Facebook group was created for the girls at my school so we could all post our dresses. I witnessed many fights online between girls who had purchased the same dress even after seeing it on someone in the Facebook group. Getting you dress altered can also be costly.

3. Hair and Makeup

Do I even have to say it? Expensive. From extensions to beat faces, hair and makeup can run your bill up too. To cut costs you can do your own makeup and hair like I did. I already had all the stuff, all I needed to do was watch a few makeup tutorials on YouTube, which costs nothing, and that was it.

These were just some of the things that go into prom, but there are other things too. Transportation, pictures, shoes, tickets, and after prom activities also add to the cost. All to dance for one night. While I did have a great time at prom I could have definitely done without the experience. If you want to go to prom have a great time, but if you chose to stay home don’t feel bad because you are not missing much.

Is Prom Really Worth it?

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