COLUMN: Tales from a high school heartbreaker
Dear Lindsay,
I am a 21-year-old college junior who has been asked to prom. I’m not even talking A-Day Spring Formal here, I’m talking high school prom. To clarify my situation, I barely even know this girl, but she knows my mom and decided I would be a good choice for some reason. When she called and asked me, I buckled and said yes. Now I don’t know what to do, but I really want to find some way to get out of it without hurting her feelings. How?
Sincerely, High School Heartbreaker
Dear High School Heartbreaker,
I have never heard of someone complaining about being asked to prom – especially when there is only a week until the dance and you haven’t had any other offers. If I were you, I would stop being so picky and let the age difference go.
Those thoughts of wanting to back out are just nerves. You don’t know what to wear, you don’t know what kind of corsage to get her, you don’t know who will be paying or if you’ll have to meet the parents. We all get nervous before a big date, so there is no need to worry about saying no just because you’re feeling anxious now.
After all, this may be the best prom ever and a lasting relationship could form from this romantic evening in the school gym.
Of course I never had this problem, but when I had friends who didn’t get asked, they were crushed. Why pass this up? Especially considering you’ll most likely be the oldest, coolest, most experienced guy there.
And if it’s your old high school, you can do some good catching up with all those kids who were in junior high when you graduated.
Do your best to get rid of those pre-prom butterflies by having a little more fun with this thing. First of all, it doesn’t sound like you’ve officially answered her yet to me! I don’t remember hearing anything about trashing her bedroom, surprising her at school or making her dig through a garbage bag full of pudding to find out if you’ve said yes.
Maybe you just haven’t settled on the perfect idea yet, so I’m happy to help.
Since this girl hasn’t been to college yet, why not get to know her better by showing her what life is like here at USU? Casually invite her to come to class with you in the next few days, but make sure to impress her with a big class, like maybe one in the ESLC auditorium during finals.
When she least expects it, run to the front of the room and borrow the teacher’s microphone to say “(insert name here), I have something I want to tell you and I want everyone here to know it. YES! I will go to prom with you!”
That way everyone will know how cool you are since none of them got asked and you did. If that is a little too bold for you, you can always steal her hubcaps and leave them on her bed with a note that says, “Yes, I WHEEL go to the dance with you.” Or, there’s also the option of mailing a pair of pants to her witha note saying, “I would ship my pants to go to the dance with you.” Always a classic.
Lindsay Kite is a junior majoring in print journalism. Questions, comments or still no prom date? Contact
lindsaykite@cc.usu.edu