What ever happened to good, clean fun?

"I don't want to to for prom."

"What is wrong with you? How dare you speak ill of the one night in your life that you will never have ever again!" Are you really sure about that?

I regret signing up for prom, I really do. Not only is it troublesome for me to find the perfect dress and shoes, I'll only have two days to do it. Or three. Not to mention the hair and makeup that'll have to be done. This is only part of the reason why I don't want to go. 

The main reason is that I think prom is just a gimmick. It seems to me that the only reason why people attend prom is to congregate in a fancy room with fancy lights and a grand piano and take photos of each other in pretty clothes. I think that when they shop, the main thought in their heads would be to look good for the sole purpose of picture taking and getting likes on Instagram or wherever. So when they tell me that prom will be a once in a lifetime experience, I highly doubt that what they say is true. How would a night of incessant photo taking and 'selfies' be memorable, or even different from other events that we've had? Sports Day -- pictures at the field; National Day -- pictures of red clad students; Prom -- pictures at a hotel with graduates all dolled up. The only exception is that the picture come with an exorbitant price.

And no, I'm not talking about the prom tickets or the costs incurred from purchasing outfits. No, I'm talking about the warped lie they believe -- the lie that they truly had a whale of a time at prom. I'm sorry, how is spending most of prom obsessing over photographs and instagram feeds fun? What ever happened to real, good fun when the pictures didn't matter or when we never obsess over other people's approval of ourselves or how we portray ourselves? How do you even know what happened at prom when you spend half the time looking down at your screen?

So, that's why I don't want to go. But who knows? Maybe I will have a good time after all, time will tell. Though I'd much rather spend the night with a bunch of close friends, cheap, good food, and have real fun that won't cost a dime. No false pretense, no phones, nothing. Just us, the night's sky and talk. Not much.

To quote Ethan Hawke from Reality Bites: