Bigger Than My Britches

In light of recent events, recent events being Gary explaining to us that we “only have 80 days until graduation, and that means only 80 days to find a job,” I decided to bury my head in the sand and use this week’s blog to throw it back to a more… simple time.

The spring of 2020.?

You might have just spit out your drink because I put simple and 2020 in the same sentence. And I will say, that’s a fair reaction! But let me explain.?

In the early spring of 2020, I was a high school senior eager to live out all of my senior year bucket list items, one of them being senior prom. If you know me, you know these simple facts: I love fashion and getting to dress up, I enjoy being surrounded by friends, and lastly, I love to boogie. What better way to combine all these things than at a school dance? It involved everything I loved to do.?

In high school, I was very active in clubs and extracurriculars, including student government. By senior year, I had built a close relationship with my principal and assistant principal. I had grown up attending school with my principal's children; his son was one of my closest friends. I had fostered a relationship with my assistant principal throughout my high school years through our Chinese immersion program which culminated in a trip to China during the spring break of my freshman year. Suffice it to say, I had always felt supported and encouraged by both of these individuals to achieve things I may or may not be capable of. What's the saying for that? Oh yeah, delusional confidence.?

I remember thinking about prom and how it was the only dance my school offered, and unfortunately, if you weren't a junior or senior, there were no other dances you could attend. This got me thinking. I had a passion for planning events, loved the idea of getting dressed up with friends and dancing, had a platform through student government, and had my administrators' support and encouragement, which all led me to an idea. What if I created a dance that all students could attend??

I think the idea of prom can be overwhelming for some. Prom can bring to mind frivolous expenditures such as purchasing an expensive ticket, buying a formal outfit, getting hair and make-up done if you’re fortunate enough to do so, etc. There’s also the pressure of having a date; who will you ask? What if you’re the only one in the group who doesn’t have one? What if you don’t even have a group? What if you don’t have a means of transportation to get there? There are a lot of questions that may arise that could hold a student back from attending an event like this. Keeping all that in mind, I wanted this dance to be different. I wanted this opportunity to be more realistic, more accessible, and less stressful.?

A winter formal is what it would be. Whether you were a freshman or senior, it was open to you. I introduced the idea to my principal, and he loved it. He loved the idea of allowing a wider variety of students to attend a dance outside of junior/senior prom. After getting approval and working closely with my assistant principal, it was up to me to make this happen. I knew I had support if needed, but after discussing and fine-tuning details, the dance and its success were up to me.

I worked hard to make the price of the tickets as low as possible by reusing old decorations and using a space at the school so we didn’t have to pay to rent an outside facility, etc. I encouraged the dress code to be whatever students wanted. Yes, it was a dance, so short dresses, and maybe nice khakis were the norm, but there wasn’t a set expectation. I spent countless hours meeting with my principal to try and develop a way to provide transportation for students who didn’t have access to it on the weekends. Inevitably, that idea was a lot harder to pull off, but we made a valiant effort, and I’m glad we tried. Regardless of the minor setbacks, we did everything possible to make this dance accessible to everyone.?

I had some help orchestrating ticket sales, decorating, and paying for vendors, but all the behind-the-scenes work was up to me. I created committees for each component, with student government members taking turns selling tickets at lunch, a decorating committee, and a communications committee. I enlisted my friends' help to start building chatter and excitement about the event to come.?

After a few quick and chaotic weeks of planning, I had a full-fledged winter formal planned for my high school of 500. We had a DJ, winter-themed decorations (that I reused from previous prom themes from the scary closet I discovered in the basement!), hors d'oeuvres, chaperones, and most importantly, students!!! The students showed up and showed out for this dance. Ironically enough, it snowed the day of the winter formal just enough to tie a perfect bow on a project I had been tirelessly working on.?

Winter formal was a blast. My friends came. Upperclassmen came. Freshman came. Students I had never met before came. It was awesome. And I had made it happen. With the help of supportive administrators, determined student government members, and friends, I was able to pull off planning a winter formal!?

You may still be wondering what any of this has to do with the infamous time of spring of 2020. Well, almost exactly a month after winter formal, the Covid-19 pandemic took over the world. All my excitement for senior year activities quickly vanished and turned into mourning for the senior year I wish I had and even felt I deserved. The pandemic kept my school from hosting prom that May. Everyone was devastated, but thankfully, we had just enjoyed the winter formal a month before. I’m glad I took a chance and created something for all of us. I’m glad we were all able to dance one last time together.?

The winter formal is now an annual occurrence at my high school, and I’ve passed the torch along to other students who saw the vision I once had. I was able to make this project happen because my delusional confidence told me I could. Because I enthusiastically sold my idea to people who supported and encouraged me. Because I never even considered failing. So, if you have an idea, make it happen! Delusional confidence can sometimes be your best friend in situations like this, just like it was for me.