I'd never heard of Adult Prom - or as I want to officially christen it, Do-Over Prom - before Claire told me about it (see yesterday's post). But does it not seem like a great idea, one that 's going to just take off and go viral and be going on everywhere come prom season? And to Josh, who organized the much-enjoyed "Enchantment Under The Sea", and to all of you who were part of that night I say remember that you were among the Lockport, Illinois pioneers of this soon-to- be-trending trend.
Or is it already trending and I just haven't heard about it?
So I googled and wikipedia'd "adult prom" to see if it was already out there and I just wasn't in the loop.
According to Wikipedia:
"(Adult proms) have become increasingly common, especially in the United States, and usually are hosted as fundraisers for charities."
Which is good. Fun with a purpose.
I scrolled down and found a few more search results, which suggests that Do-over Prom is actually out there, but not the big thing that I think it's going to become.
From what I could find on the subject, it appears that there are presently two categories of of adult prom: the first, with a small enough presence to be classified as more of a sub-genre, is presented as a more serious-minded event, a chance to re-live the magic of that first prom or experience the magic of the prom you never attended but as you would have liked it to be had you attended, a glittery, sparkly, romantic formal evening with the love of your life. In other words, just like a high school prom but for grown-ups. And you don't have to hide a flask under your tux because there's an open bar. This sub-genre of the do-over should, by rights, continued to be called Adult Prom so as to distinguish it from the larger category of do-overs I came across.
This major category of do-overs, whether for charity or just-for-fun, shared a common trait. All had to them a tongue-in-cheekiness, a spirit of levity and humor.
Some of the do-overs I found on line were more parodies at heart, such as one where the the dress requirement was the cheesiest prom attire one could put together, or another where there were chaperones telling the dancers to dance closer together. And then there was the spiked "prom punch" that appears to be standard-issue at all do-overs.
But I think the real appeal of the Do-Over Prom is its implicit humor of self-awareness; of looking back and smiling at our younger selves and at how important to us were such things as prom, how much emotion we set into one evening, how having a bad or disappointing prom experience could feel like the end of the world, (see my May 16 post about my bad prom), how missing your prom could be devastating, and then how soon it didn't matter anymore because you'd grown up and gotten on with your life.
And I think that at this point, the point where whatever stings and arrows we might have endured during our school years don't matter any more, when we can accept that all the experiences of our youth, good and bad, have gone into the mix of making us into who we are, then we're ready for our do-over prom.
Hopefully we're all ready.
'Cause I think it's on its way. ;)
Or is it already trending and I just haven't heard about it?
So I googled and wikipedia'd "adult prom" to see if it was already out there and I just wasn't in the loop.
According to Wikipedia:
"(Adult proms) have become increasingly common, especially in the United States, and usually are hosted as fundraisers for charities."
Which is good. Fun with a purpose.
I scrolled down and found a few more search results, which suggests that Do-over Prom is actually out there, but not the big thing that I think it's going to become.
From what I could find on the subject, it appears that there are presently two categories of of adult prom: the first, with a small enough presence to be classified as more of a sub-genre, is presented as a more serious-minded event, a chance to re-live the magic of that first prom or experience the magic of the prom you never attended but as you would have liked it to be had you attended, a glittery, sparkly, romantic formal evening with the love of your life. In other words, just like a high school prom but for grown-ups. And you don't have to hide a flask under your tux because there's an open bar. This sub-genre of the do-over should, by rights, continued to be called Adult Prom so as to distinguish it from the larger category of do-overs I came across.
This major category of do-overs, whether for charity or just-for-fun, shared a common trait. All had to them a tongue-in-cheekiness, a spirit of levity and humor.
Some of the do-overs I found on line were more parodies at heart, such as one where the the dress requirement was the cheesiest prom attire one could put together, or another where there were chaperones telling the dancers to dance closer together. And then there was the spiked "prom punch" that appears to be standard-issue at all do-overs.
But I think the real appeal of the Do-Over Prom is its implicit humor of self-awareness; of looking back and smiling at our younger selves and at how important to us were such things as prom, how much emotion we set into one evening, how having a bad or disappointing prom experience could feel like the end of the world, (see my May 16 post about my bad prom), how missing your prom could be devastating, and then how soon it didn't matter anymore because you'd grown up and gotten on with your life.
And I think that at this point, the point where whatever stings and arrows we might have endured during our school years don't matter any more, when we can accept that all the experiences of our youth, good and bad, have gone into the mix of making us into who we are, then we're ready for our do-over prom.
Hopefully we're all ready.
'Cause I think it's on its way. ;)
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