It is a known fact that teenagers are self-centered. Every teen firmly believes they are center stage of the greatest saga of all time. I was awkward in social situations, almost always said the wrong thing, and had a bad habit of falling down the stairs. And yet I was no different in seeing myself as the star of my own show, even if it was a poorly rated show in danger of being cancelled by the network. In hindsight, it was really not that big a deal that I had no date to the Prom. Certainly, it was not the most embarrassing 'traumatized for life' situation that I was ever forced to endure. Except at the time, it was.
I wanted to go to the Prom and have a magical evening with Mr. Right Now! My best friend Michelle even dragged me kicking and screaming to the Prom Committee meetings in hopes of finding me a date. Her enthusiasm being infectious, I soon began brushing up on my dancing skills and looking for a dress. I even made my mother take me to a mall in the next county so I could find the most perfect dress ever made...for under a hundred bucks(all my mom would give me). The length of the dress made me feel even more awkward, but that was the style of the time.
Although I batted my eyelashes like crazy, no prom invitations came, and I became a little desperate. I felt cheated. Where was my grand Prom romance like they have in the movies? I was finally asked to the Prom by a junior, at the last minute. When we walked into the Prom and went to have our picture taken, my mood went even south.
The girl standing in front of us was wearing my dress, AND she looked better wearing it. I was about to yell at this girl for shopping at MY department store...until another girl drifted by with her date, and she was also wearing MY dress. This one looked even better in that dress than I did. As the three of us noticed each other, yet another girl walked past wearing our dress. Four girls at the same Prom...wearing the same dress.
Recipe for disaster...or at least an epic cat fight.
We all just stared at each other, a four-way stare down. Then one of us smiled and laughed and the tension broke as we all inevitably realized that we were not the stars of our own teen romance movies. For tonight, at least, we were all stars gracing the stage in a comedy. We shared a laugh then, at ourselves and the situation, and then we went our separate ways.
Write On Edge RemembeRED prompt: Think back to your own adolescence. With the perspective of time, try to
find the beauty or grace in an awkward adolescent situation, even if
there is only a sliver to find.
well it must have been beautiful if so many girl chose it--great story!
ReplyDeleteLove "star of my own show". Thanks goodness you all laughed at the dress fiasco. What could you really do? My boyfriend and I (we went to Junior and Senior Prom together) ALWAYS fought at dances rendering them not so much fun! High School...
ReplyDeleteAren't you glad back them they didn't have the "Who wore it best?" Love that you thought your dress was so unique and the irony of not only one but four girls wearing it made for an entertaining read.
ReplyDeleteEven a brief moment of self-awareness is truly beautiful in teenagers. You are so right that each teenager is the center of his or her own universe, but this shows the hope we all have of them growing into less self-centered people :)
ReplyDeleteBut who bought the dress first??!! Aha!! :)
ReplyDeleteEw! prom! I nearly despised my date by the time the magical night came...and I certainly didn't like him any better by the end of the night. I wish you'd gotten a photo of the four of you together in your dresses...how could you have known how awesome that would be in 25 years?! Love your telling of the tale, as always!
ReplyDeleteOf COURSE teens are the stars of their own epic movies!
ReplyDeleteI loved that you took it from drama to a sitcom and then showed the awareness you all had. Did you four get a picture together?