Awesome outfit? Check. Killer shoes? Double check. Sweet ride? Good to go. Now about that prom date...do you really need one? Spoiler alert: Nope. Going to prom alone is the ultimate power move.
Heading to prom alone or with a group of friends can actually end up being way more fun than tying yourself down to one special (or, in a lot of cases, not-so-special) someone. Here are five reasons why dancing on your own (or with a group of buds, anyway) might just be the best recipe for an amazing night.
You'll avoid pre-dance stress.
Sure, we all assume that having a crush-worthy partner at our side will make for the best kind of prom. But that's not always the case. Not only can having a crush with you at prom create stress the night-of, it can also lead to worry before hand. Will they work up the courage to actually ask you to be their date? What happens if they ask someone else? Going to prom alone or with friends means you'll skip all the worrying and get to focus on the excitement! Not to mention, you can use the money you'd spend on someone else's boutonniere or corsage for cool shoes or a piece of jewelry for the real special someone — yourself.
Keeping your dance card open is half the fun.
The unexpected things are what make prom truly memorable, whether it be that cute kid from physics class nervously asking you to join them for a slow dance, or spending 30 minutes in the bathroom with your pals reapplying mascara after the obligatory oh-my-god-we're-graduating cry. When you go with a date, the assumption that you'll spend the night on the arm of one person can be a little limiting, but going on your own means the evening is actually your oyster—who knows what might happen (in a good way!).
Awkward prom pictures: They don't need to exist.
The obviously staged photographs of your date slipping a corsage on your wrist? Meh. The standard row-of-dates-standing-on-stairs pics? Not something you need in your life. You're going to want to look back on photos of your friends with their arms draped around each other, laughing, being weird, taking selfies, and so on. You know what won't make the cut? The snapshot of you and the dude you weren't that into stiffly smiling in someone's backyard. Candids with the people you care about most will truly stand the test of time.
Prom actually has a pretty racist, misogynistic backstory
Prom has been reinforcing gender norms and classism for decades, and as recently as 2014, prom was a segregated event. So when you think about it, showing up solo and doing whatever you want is not only badass, but a protest of the dance's origins.
Everything is about to change, so celebrate the now.
Pretty soon, your friends are going to part ways and head off in different directions. This is the night you get to celebrate all you've done the last four years and—cheesily enough—live in the moment. Enjoy it. Get excited. Don't make this the day of pretending like you're an old person and going to a formal dinner with someone you're not that into—trust us, you have the rest of your life to do that.
This article has been updated from its initial version.
