On Sunday, May 12th at the San Francisco City Hall building, Heritage seniors celebrated their Senior Ball. Along with dancing, students also got to enjoy two delicious dinner buffets, dessert buffets, poker tables, a balloon drop, photo booths, and a voting station for our prom royalty. The dance went flawlessly and caused many to wonder about the background of prom.  

Prom was originally created to take the place of a debutant dance for the working-class woman, as many girls of that period could not afford to make a debut. The first prom dates back to the 1920s, as a simple teatime and dance, before its evolution into the glamorous ball it is now.

Deborah Holmgren, a historian, recalled her prom from when she was younger that she unfortunately could not attend. Holmgren believes that as she has aged, she has watched the importance around prom grow.

“As excitement and fame for yearly prom dances grew, by the 1960s, they started being hosted in larger venues,” said Holmgren.

Holmgren also watched the meaning of prom change from a debut for women, to a fun dance where everyone tries to look their best, female and male. Now prom is no longer a debut, but a social event, almost like a Quinceanera.

Aaleigha Reasoner (12) and her sister loved their senior proms.

“My sister loved her prom so much she wanted to have the opportunity to come to mine as well,” Reasoner.

Reasoner used a prom bid form to allow her sister to attend her prom as well as her own.

Prom is a super fun event for students, many even recounting waiting years of school anxiously for their junior and senior year prom. Prom was worth the wait, but some feel more stress surrounding the prom than happiness.

Shelly Lynn (42) mentioned that she was so excited for her senior prom that she got sick before the event and had to stay home.

“Do not get too worked up and worried that every detail of prom needs to be perfect; it doesn’t. There will be bumps in your plans but in the end it should make stuff more fun. Don’t ruin your prom over the stress of perfection,” said Lynn.

Junior and Senior prom are two days you will never get back; make the most of them and be safe.