Prom 2008: To Attend or to Sit it Out? One Answer Doesn't Fit All!

It's spring, and while a young man's fancy may become hormonally challenged, for young women across the nation, it's Prom time. I truly do remember my own senior prom, which was literally decades ago, because of all that went wrong with it. My date was shorter than I, and I forgot to buy flat shoes. My dress, which I had picked out on my own, was just okay. Most of all, I remember coming home from the hairdresser's with a new do that made me look like Madeline Kahn in "Young Frankenstein". Less than an hour before my date was to arrive, I was furiously trying to just DRY my hair, let alone put it in any kind of a style. It's funny the things that you remember from an experience like a prom. I remember the things that didn't go so well, but certainly weren't disasters. I have a vaguely pleasant memory of a very nice - but not spectacular - evening. I have no idea whatever happened to my prom dress, or the jewelry that I wore that evening. I have no idea whatever happened to the nice young man with whom I attended my prom. (Wherever he is, I wish him well!)

As the mother of daughters who've been there, done that with both junior and senior proms in more recent times, thankfully, I'd like to share some suggestions on how to best approach your upcoming prom.

Do you REALLY want to attend your prom? Are you going just because you're feeling pressured by your peers or your parents? For whatever reason, are you dreading the event? Don't give in to the pressure; you're guaranteed to be miserable if you do. Remember, thousands upon thousands of very successful, highly respected women chose not to attend their proms for a variety of reasons - and they did indeed live happily ever after. No one ever died because they didn't go to their senior prom.