Prom 2012

Prom has often been dubbed the "night to remember" for as long as I can recall. We watch it on American high school dramas, we hear about them from our seniors who have lived through this supposedly breathtaking and amazing experience and we yearn deep in our souls to be a part of this event someday, hoping that all our expectations are proven right and that we find closure at the end of our schooling years.

My prom was held two days ago, on a Thursday night. I was quite stoked about the event since prom was something I was pretty fond of as a child. As I faithfully watched A Cinderella Story for the umpteenth time, I would take note of the amazing dress the supposed 'Cinderella Girl' would don, the majestic setting the ballroom would behold and the interesting choice of hors d'oeuvre or amuse bouche in the least, alongside a fine choice of mocktails which usually include the same concoction of fruit punch. But all those things were besides the point. The underlying concept in A Cinderella Story was the story itself where this humble servant girl rises to new heights and finds her 'Prince Charming' with the assistance of a fairy godmother, usually in the form of a close friend in the modern day adaptations of the classic fairy tale.

Well then, did my school prom committee super cede these somewhat petty yet real expectations and threw us a night to remember?

It's actually pretty simple to answer that.. NO.

I honestly couldn't have asked for a "better" prom. One of the emcees was competing against himself to see how many profanities he could insert into every sentence, there was dry-ice smoke permeating the entire ballroom and eventually outside the ballroom, the choice of music was all mainstream and absolutely redundant, my grandmother can do a much better job at cooking beef thank you very much, the desserts were the size of an amuse bouche (never a good thing), the photo booth was simply a rip off from the one we had at our school graduation, there were couples making out at every corner during the 'clubbing' and 'slow dance' session, the whole ballroom was just too dark and smoky to dance in and the strobe lighting was one that pioneered a pounding headache. Heh.

Honestly though, it was such a horrible mess, a popularity contest and it just didn't kick ass.

The only saving graces of the event were the performances and the little music video at the end featuring all our Kodak moments in high school. While most of the physical and social expectations were completely unmet, I did get an experience I never thought I'd live through in a million years, since I'm pretty much a wallflower in school. Or maybe just plain ignored. Heh.

Anyhow, since I went with a friend who was my date for the day, he actually got me a corsage for prom. It may be a common notion in the U.S. or any other Western proms, but I appeared to be the only one who was wearing a corsage that night. So yeah, that pretty much made me feel special :) As of now, the corsage is resting in an empty half of my Clarins cleanser tube filled with water and paracetamol. I earnestly don't think I've ever seen something so beautiful to want it to last forever, but this corsage was something that meant so much to me that I just had to make sure it retained it's beauty for at least a couple more days.

Next, another event I see myself reminiscing in future is my first ever slow dance. I never thought I'd get asked at all. Well, maybe I did think about it but I always dismissed the thought of ever being asked for the exact same reasons why I never thought I deserved a corsage for prom. But I did. My date was smart enough and well, such a gentleman to even bring up the notion of dancing. While both of us were totally hopeless at dancing, I sort of enjoyed it since it was my first, and firsts just bring so much more meaning to the occasion regardless the consequences.

Finally, the entirety of the occasion was saved by this major factor - COMPANY. The fact that I had great company at my table and an amazing date proved to be a blessing through the night. When I had a fever during prom, my friends Syuen Lee and Jia Yi had to sashay down the hotel in their evening dresses into the mall just to find me some Panadol to cure my headache. I really appreciate the gesture and as a result of their kindness I managed to enjoy the night before the second fever broke out after prom. Moreover, my other friends Kah Yan, Chien Yi, Nicole and Men Yee were also such amazing sports for being willing enough to go for prom and fill the table I was in since most of our peers weren't interested in attending prom at all. I appreciate all of you so dearly and I hope in time to come, our paths will cross once more. Also, I am extremely grateful for my date for being such an amazing sport and doing all the things society expected of him and making me a happy girl that night. Honestly, I felt really special and a little part of me was wishing some of those little sweet moments would not come to an end.

With that said, I can conclude that prom was a rather mediocre experience at best. I'm not sure if I want to experience it again since I spent about RM500 on my clothes, make-up and hair, jewellery and the ticket itself. Perhaps my college prom may provide a different exposure altogether but all in all, I'm a tad traumatized over the insecurity I felt when I tried to dance in heels and balance myself on the escalator and I'm pretty convinced I'm a little claustrophobic since I felt dizzy in that dark, misty ballroom.

But the fact remains - I experienced prom. And that is all that matters.