Promposals. Have you heard of them? They’re opportunities for high schoolers to come up with elaborately creative ways of asking each other to prom and most likely record the event for viral posterity. Perhaps it is getting a bit out of hand— there’s actually a National Promposal Day. Granted, peanut butter gets a day, and so do donuts, but do promposals actually need one?
Before I defend my position, let me say that I love love. I LOVE love. I am a romantic at heart. And, my prom date is now my husband of many, many years, so I know how meaningful high school romances can be.
But whatever happened to simply asking someone to go to prom with you? Why do you need a corny pick-up line with a handcrafted sign or majorly over-the-top props? Couples who have been together for a while and are expecting to go to prom together likely see the promposal as just a formality. They already know the answer but are going through the motions to show how much they care (I guess?).
But what about those non-couples? Can you imagine wanting to ask someone to prom and not being sure of their answer? Add to that the pressure to ask them in an elaborate way that draws attention to you and your possible rejection? Can you imagine being on the receiving end of a promposal from someone who went way out of their way to ask you out, but you don’t want to go? For all of the happily-ever-after promposals, there are many high schoolers who took a shot, missed, and feel totally embarrassed about it, or who couldn’t get up the nerve to ask because merely asking someone to prom is no longer enough.
Whatever happened to proposals being for something bigger, like, I don’t know … marriage??? Do we really need to make every event in our lives so over the top? Because, don’t forget … we’ve also made prom itself a ridiculously huge deal with photo shoots at a scenic park with all of the parents, expensive dinners, limos or stretch hummers, and the huge post-prom bashes. That’s on top of the standard dresses, matching tuxes, hair, nails, boutonnieres, corsages, and prom tickets.
I get it. You only live once, and prom is a milestone. And maybe with age comes cynicism. But prom itself is a big enough deal. I feel like it should be enough. On the other hand, I guess if it weren’t for promposals, most high schoolers would be texting each other to prom … so maybe there is something to them after all?
