Did you go to prom?
Hi Thriver!
It is prom season and I have to say this generation has it right!
Groups of girls gathering to make their own flower bouquets to hold for pictures and friends celebrating together without the exclusion pressure of not being able to attend without a date.
I have two distinct memories of feeling the "date" pressure in school to attend a dance.
It was autumn and the air was brisk. All the festivities of homecoming filled each day of the week and it was Friday at lunchtime. At the very end of lunch, a friend of a friend asked me to go to the dance that very night.
I remember feeling so relieved because "I could finally go to the dance! "
My mom picked me up after school and we raced to the store together to find the perfect dress and shoes quickly and made it home just in time to get dressed and go.
It is honestly one of my very favorite memories with her.
To this day, I am shocked that the social norm when I was in high school was that those who did not have dates were supposed to sit home. Sadly, that was the trend then and at least for this one homecoming, I danced the night away.
Now, fast forward to the springtime and it was prom season. My house was the picture house where everyone gathered for pre-dance pictures.
We've recently digitized some of our childhood videos and digitized this major event and I could not believe what I saw.
Everyone was dressed so beautifully and there was the line up of parent paparazzi. (That hasn't changed at all. The cameras may have changed but the parents' love of photos have not! )
Out of the corner of the video, I noticed one of our dearest friends from our circle was at the party in a t-shirt and shorts but did not attend prom because she wasn't asked by someone to go.
My heart broke for her while reliving this day through the video. I could not believe she was not standing with us taking pictures simply because she had not been asked to go.
I am soo happy this generation has embraced their self-love, self-appreciation and self-worth and knows no one needs a date to attend events.
The power of friendship is an incredible love and one that should be celebrated all by itself- no date required.
The word promenade is defined as "take a leisurely public walk, ride or drive as to meet or be seen by others," according to Oxford Languages.
Way to be seen Gen Z!
Way to promenade and way to celebrate you and to know that you, alone, deserve to have fun because you are you without anyone's permission and invitation.
And I invite you to invite yourself to the dance. Buy yourself flowers and make every moment of this life into its own incredible memory.
Join me for this week's podcast dropping Monday Morning, What is keeping you from participating in life? We will dive into people pleasing, hook-up culture and the evolution of my own dance dating experience. This episode is heartfelt and offers so much transformative advice. I look forward to you joining me tomorrow morning!
Much love,
Erin
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