2/23/2018 0 Comments My Junior Semi-FormalLast Friday, my friends and I went to our Junior Semi-Formal and I honestly have to say that it was one of the best nights of my life. But the question came to me, why are going to these events so important? And I came to the conclusion, they’re not. Now for those of who don't know, I go to school in Manhattan, New York. We don't have many dances but every year they throw the Junior Semi-Formal and after much debate, I decided to go. Now dances seem to be a rite of passage in all schools. The major ones at least, but this year I was kind of surprised to see so much indecision over something that, to me, seemed like such an obvious thing. In the beginning, my friends and I didn't even need to talk about whether or not we were going. It was just something we knew we were going to do but the plans were never finalized. We didn't know what we were going to wear and what time we were going to get there or get home until the day before, all the way up to the hours before the dance and it was all because at the last minute we all seemed to take up the idea that maybe this just wasn't worth our time.
The rules were, if you went to formal you had that Friday off but if you didn't go to formal you either came to school or stayed home and took an absence. I live pretty far away from school and since that Friday would technically be the beginning of my winter break, I figured, why not take that day off especially since the rest of the Junior class would be off as well? We also had to pay 25$ which isn't a lot of money now that I think about it but I thought I could save that money and not have to waste time and money on buying a dress, shoes and getting ready for an event that I'm not sure will be all that fun. There was the worry about the music not being good and then the food and so when it came down to a few days before the money was due, my friends and I decided that we weren't going to go. Later, I found out that 70 out of the 200 girls in my class had signed up for the dance. There was a big discussion about it in one of my classes. Some girls thought it was lame, others had made their own plans for that Friday night but many were excited for the dance and when I talked with one of my teachers he told me something along the lines of, high school is short and we don't get many opportunities like these to make good memories inside of school. A few of my other friends were still going to go and after I talked with my mom about it, I decided that I was going to go too, whether or not my other friends decided they were going either. She had told me, "If you want to go, then go but if you don't want to go, then don't go." It seemed so simple but it all came down to the bottom line of, I don't want to look back on my high school years and regret not doing something that I admittedly wanted to go to. And sure, I could have stayed home that night and got some much needed rest but I managed to convince my friends to come with me and we all had a great time. Now why am I telling you all of this? Because I feel like it's up to us as we grow and learn and explore through every twist and turn in our young lives that we don't hold back from doing things just because we want to be cheap or lazy or because your friends are doing it. Going to these dances aren’t important but they are if you think they are. If you have a dance coming up and you think you want to go to, you should go. But if you'd rather spend your Friday night at a movie or at home, no one should knock you down for that either. And I'm not saying that you shouldn't try to convince your friends into joining you but don't make them feel bad about their decision just because it's different from yours. Just remember that life is short and it's up to you to make your definition of fun so take every opportunity you can get to enjoy yourself. You never want to regret doing something because the worst thing that could have happened is that the dance was boring. Other than that, what else did I have to loose? Nothing, and neither do you. You only live once so live it to the fullest and have fun. Until Next Time! With love, Arianna P.S. A good friend of mine took that lovely picture of me in the school bathroom that night. I think it’s the best one I own. Thanks Rossena!
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AuthorI'm an 21 year old girl who lives in NY. I love to read and write and fashion is my life. Follow me to find out more! Archives
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