here at FYA headquarters, we try to keep a finger on the extremely hormonal, racing pulse of YA. usually we stick to books, but occasionally, we enter into real live teenager territory! DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE!
thanks to a recent visit to olive garden, we couldn’t help but notice that prom season is in full swing. and while i realize that prom should actually never be the greatest night of anyone’s life (YOU ARE FULL OF LIES, SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE), it’s still a Major Event in the world of any young adult, whether you embrace it with a humongous tiara or decide to go paintballing with yr friends instead.
moreover, prom is one of the many teenage milestones that is far easier to enjoy in a YA novel than it is in real life. because in a book, either something incredibly unrealistic magical happens or the character undergoes some type of humiliation that is way less traumatic than yr own personal tragedy because you know that somehow, some way, that character will get a happy ending (there’s a happy ending, right? RIGHT?!!).
therefore, we thought it would be fun* to revisit ye olde prom nights by posting some extremely mortifying photos and sharing a few salient tidbits! and then we thought, hey, wait, why should we be the only ones to revel in the glory of big hair and tacky dresses? so we decided to stop being selfish and invite all of you to embarrass yrselves along with us and submit your most awesome prom photos with the answers to a few v. important questions:
1. who was yr prom date (if you had one)? please provide a brief description (crush? best friend? boyfriend/girlfriend?).
2. what was yr favorite song that played at the prom?
3. what was the most YA-tastic moment of the night?
by YA-tastic, we mean something straight out of a YA novel, like totally magical or really humiliating or just super teenagery and great.
you can email us by hitting the “pass us a note!” link on the right. ladies and gentlemen, START YR SCANNING! and yr cringing!
if anyone can beat that photo, we will crown you prom queen (or king!) and send you some ARCs (which last a lot longer than high school popularity, let me tell you).
so send us yr submissions and stay tuned for the FYA PROM ISSUE! did i mention that you may see a few YA authors in poofy dresses and shiny cumberbunds? OH YES. YOU WILL.
*apparently, we define “fun” as insanely embarrassing.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Funny! I’m chaperoning prom tonight. So, this is a good retrospective for me. I don’t have a prom horror story. I had a great time, danced all night, my bangs weren’t 9 feet tall (I went in ’95, so flannel and Nirvana had already let the hairspray out of my curly locks). I love going to prom every year now as a teacher. It’s awesome to see all of the kids dressed up and having a great time!
OMG. i would actually kill to be a prom chaperone, but unfortunately i lack the badassery to be a teacher. plus i’m pretty sure schools don’t take kindly to strangers who “just want to watch.”
That’s why I like speaking at high schools. I can relive my teen years without having to be any sort of an authority figure.
Great idea!
I had a totally YA, fantastic prom, with (1) my boyfriend of 2 1/2 years. The DJ played “our” song, (2) “Lady in Red” by Chris DeBurgh, and our YA moment (3) was when we–two marching band/orchestra nerds!–cleared the floor dancing to “Jump, Jive and Wail” (this was 1999, the height of the swing-dancing revival) and finished the song surrounded by a clapping mob of popular kids. No joke. One of my favorite memories of high school, natch.
Love the blog!
LADY IN REEEEEEEED!!!!!
Found your blog through Fug Girls’ link, and was sucked in by the Gale vs. Peeta debate, which was HILARIOUS, by the way. I remain torn between croissants and Gale’s hotness.
My high school prom experience was YA-tastic, a cross between romcom mishap and full-blown awkwardness. Your post has inspired me to relive it over on my blog, but I won’t reproduce that here to save your space. But, to answer your questions: 1) The Date: Boy from the environmental club. We had rescued toads from being squished by cars together. 2) The Music: I don’t recall, as I was hiding in the bathroom from The Date for most of the dance. 3) YA moment: It’s hard to choose — but probably the same as #2.
I also love YA novels because they allow me to re-live my youth… which is probably why I am also a teacher.
So, prom. I went to prom 4 times (yes 4!) with the same date. His junior and senior, and then my junior and senior. We dated all through high school and college, got married… and now as teachers, we are STILL going to prom together. Fun! Of course, the music back then was better. You can’t top Ice Ice Baby, Do Me, and Wild Thing! Not to mention Baby Got Back…
I think the most YA moment I had as a student prom-goer was my freshmen year (his junior), when I got to witness a major cat fight in the bathroom. Two girls were really scratching eyes out over a boy in the ladies room. Ahh, drama. Unfortunately, I have gotten to witness this kind of thing many times as a authority figure. Along with all of the typical cliches… public drunkenness, fights, break-ups, wardrobe malfunctions, bad outfits… you name it, and high school teachers get to experience it! But, I love it and wouldn’t trade it for the world.
When’s the deadline? I have one hell of a prom story to tell.
we always grant deadline extensions when a “hell of a prom story” is involved. email us!!!!