By Dayonte Dixon and Joey Jackson –
It’s the day that high school students talk about and prepare for since freshman year.
“Don’t talk to me about prom, I’m so ready for prom already,” said senior Janelle Musser.
Penn Manor’s prom of 2012 is quickly approaching, and seniors are beginning to take action on the preparations they have been setting up for some time. Unfortunately, the amount of time this takes seems to be increasing as more standards are set upon this year’s senior class.
For example, it’s no longer accepted for guys to ask their date straight up. As the years have come along, asking somebody to prom has evolved from a simple dinner date into complex plans that could range anywhere from a poster with pictures and flowers, to a pre-made fortune cookie. Unfortunately (from the man’s perspective of course) these extravagant plans have now become the norm for the high school prom-goer.
Senior Ian Toomey presented the question by giving his date a custom-made puzzle with a poem that incorporated the question. But it isn’t just a matter of “how” when you are going to pop the question, it is also a matter of “when.”
“When your heart begins to feel a tingling sensation, and your palms get sweaty,” said senior Ian Toomey, referring to the right time to ask a girl to prom.
How a guy pops the question is so important now-a-days, that even those who are currently in relationships have not asked simply because they haven’t yet thought of a way that is clever enough to impress their prospective date.
After all, why put so much thought and effort into something that could be condensed into a one word question, “Prom?”
Maybe the best way to answer that question would be to break it up into two parts- the women would like the idea that someone put much effort just for them, while the guys are willing to make the effort necessary in order to make that one lucky lady say yes.
“I figure we are going to prom together,” senior Alex Cummins explains, “but I haven’t officially asked her yet because I haven’t thought of a way that is good enough yet.”
But even after all this, more preparation is yet to come.
Picking a dress for the woman, obviously one of the most time consuming pieces of the preparation process, must then be matched to the guys tuxedo, not to mention all the time spent getting hair done and pre-prom pictures.
Then there’s the deal of the cost.
Although the chivalrous and most common thing to do would be for the guy to pay for the girl, with ticket prices on the rise, some students have decided to take a more liberal approach.
“We plan on splitting all cost.” said senior Ian Toomey.
Even with prom about two and a half months away, a lot of seniors still haven’t made their intentions final, which can only mean two things, either we will soon see an outbreak of prom invitations or there will be a lot of seniors without a date.