My Picture Perfect Prom
By Lauren, age 19, California
Sweet Advice Featured Columnist
That time of year had finally arrived - prom, graduation, school acceptance letters, confirmation letters sent to schools - and I was going to make sure it was all perfect. And when I say perfect I mean picture perfect. Right down to the paint on my toes.
Prom had finally come and I needed to find a dress. I wanted a lime green prom dress. I was set on it. I wanted nothing but green. So when I didn't end up with it, not only was I surprised, but so was everyone I knew. My prom dress was white and black. Wait ... hold on ... What color?
I had sworn I'd never wear a white dress to a dance until I was married, but there it was in the window, a beautiful white and black gown. It was a long, full length, tube top gown. The dress had a black bow with a ribbon hanging down, and right in the middle were silver rhinestones.
I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I wanted it so bad. I ran right into the store and quickly found it hanging on the rack. I ran from there to the dressing room to try it on.
The dress fit perfectly. It went on with ease and it just seemed so perfect. Well, until I realized it wasn't lime green. I walked out of the dressing room feeling unsure if I wanted it. So I walked over to my mom unsure. She turned around and said, "Lauren, it looks great. I think you should get it."
I spent another hour going back and forth, back and forth, yes or no, yes or no. Finally my mom said, "Lauren, you need to decide now or we are going to leave. But trust me, it looks great." So I got the dress.
Now that seemed pretty easy, right? Wait ... cuz nope, it wasn't. I wasn't even close to being difficult yet. Wait till I tell you what happened with my date's attire and my flowers, nails, and makeup.
Prom was getting close and my date was getting worried about what to wear. He hadn't even ordered a tux or tie or anything. It's only black and white - how hard could that be? It wasn't that easy. I wanted him to be in a white tux, with black as his accent color. It was my prom, not his! He went to a rival school - he had no say!
So when he told me it was going to be white with pinstripes I was about to flip. This is NOT what I wanted. He called me, saying, "Trust me, it looks so much better than the plain white one. If I thought you'd hate it I wouldn't have gotten it. Trust me. Just breathe." So I calmed down a little, but my nerves were still on high.
Next on my list to figure out were flowers. Again, sounds easy, right? My date went to get my flowers and called me up, saying, "Hey Lauren, what color flowers? White?" I thought Oh, that's easy ... of course until a mental picture flashed. "Hold on, wait, no, red," I said. "White won't show."
Now again, sounds easy, until I thought Wait, I have no red whatsoever in my outfit. So now what? Mom!?!? Thank God for my mother's levelheadedness, or I'd have freaked. She said, "What are you doing with your hair?" Oh, great. I hadn't even thought about it. What was I ...? "Lauren, why don't you put your hair up completely and slightly to the side, with curls hanging down? Then you can pin a rose into it."
Quickly I thought to myself Would that work? "Mom, it'll look funny, no?"
"Lauren, it'll look fine. Just trust me." So I did. I took my mother's advice, and it looked great.
Now the final touches. Makeup and nails again seem oh so easy. Wrong! There I was again - Things must be perfect! My nails were French tipped, but that just didn't look right. I wanted a black line. The lady didn't understand me. She spoke no English and was trying to tell me she was done. I wanted a black line! After a while trying to find someone who could understand me I got my black line.
Oh, I can't forget my toes. The nail place tried not to do them at all. Hey, hey, hey, oh no! Not going to happen! I thought. I wanted black and white toes. When I told the lady she just started painting away, and they were black and white polka dotted before I knew it. Wait ... What? That isn't formal. Then came my mom's levelheadedness once again. "Lauren, they look cute, plus no one will really see your toes, and you love polka dots. Trust me, they look cute."
Now to makeup. I am a person who only wears a little, and pretty much only natural colors, so when the lady started applying a smoky eye on me I wasn't too sure. It was a back-and-forth battle in my head, and I was feeling badly because I had to ask the lady to redo the makeup a couple times. Finally the lady said, "You seem to have had a long day. Why don't I just do both eyes and then we can decide? Trust me, against white it will look great." Finally I let go and just left it in her hands.
At this point I had been trying so hard to get what I wanted that I hadn't seen how perfectly things were looking. I hadn't noticed how perfectly prom was looking because I had tried so hard to want something else, when in actuality I had what I wanted. I had an absolutely gorgeous dress. My hair looked great. My makeup looked great too, and so did my nails and flowers. So what was wrong with me?
That night I had so many compliments. People I had gone to high school with for four years, but had never even talked to me before, walked up and told me how pretty I looked. Why hadn't I seen it before? Why wasn't I able to trust everyone's judgment from the start? Everyone had my best interests at heart. Everyone wanted prom to be perfect for me. The only one who wasn't allowing it was me.
My advice: Next time just chill and let someone else assist you. They have your best interests in mind. Your perfect world is what you make it. If you look at the positives it will be amazing, but if you only see the negatives, well, how will you ever find perfection?
The Little One
Lauren ♥
