Love was recently in the air here at NASH. MORP proposals took place, tickets were sold, and hundreds of students enjoyed Saturday night’s festivities.

Amidst the high school dance craze, however, last weekend I was not seen in a glamorous, overpriced dress, dancing the night away. In fact, I chose to go quite the opposite route — while my peers spent hundreds of dollars on one night, I was at work.

For most people, dances like homecoming, prom, and MORP are the highlights of their high school experience. Splurging is worth it to many because these dances are important moments to cherish as we step into our future.

But to me, MORP and Homecoming are not moments to have fun with friends and maybe even find love before graduation. Instead, they’re a burden. And, more often than not, the stress of finding a date and the perfect outfit within budget overtakes any opportunity to enjoy the evening.

In the past decade, teens and their families have been spending an average of $1,000 on Prom for outfits, tickets, dinners, and so on. Granted, MORP and Homecoming are significantly more cost-effective than Prom, but ask any of your classmates who went to Saturday’s dance — the total expense of all school dances has been steadily rising. I could work for months on end to pay for the extravagance of just one night and hope that my parents could pitch in, but would it really be worth it?

Cost may be the heaviest overall strain, but alongside it come the undesired pressures and hassles of school dances. On this special night, every teenager wants to feel confident and beautiful in an outfit worth the cost of feeling this way. But sometimes the competition of being “best dressed” takes over the room and ends the evening with an unwanted feeling. At the dances I’ve attended, I’ve heard mean comments whispered about other people’s outfits and I’ve seen people bullying those who just want to enjoy their night. It’s truly hard to stomach this type of negativity on an evening that is supposed to be celebratory.

Amplifying the pressure is the fact that dance proposals have only become more elaborate in the past few years. Today, boys and girls alike feel compelled to plan intricate asks. As ever more over-the-top posters take to the halls of NASH, the stress is placed on teens to outdo their peers only grows.  

Many students see school dances as the peak of their high school experience. That’s why last week, as MORP drew closer, I found myself questioning whether my decision to skip out would lead to a lifetime of regret.

Then again, high school isn’t always about the events you attend — instead, it’s about your attitude and the people you surround yourself with. I find it hard to believe that 15 years from now I’ll be looking back, wondering how my life would have different had I gone to Saturday night’s dance. Instead, I’ll just be glad I lived these coveted four years to their fullest.

Prom isn’t all that far off, so it may be worth taking a step back and deciding if the benefits of attending a school dance outweigh these costs. Of course, there are many good reasons to attend, but feeling pressure from others must not be one.

As for me, when I got off of work on Saturday night, I treated myself to an evening of Netflix binge-watching. And when I woke up on Sunday morning, I forgot all about the pressure I’d felt.