When I heard that students at LFHS weren’t planning on attending the upcoming Winter Formal (Turnabout) dance, I was very confused. The excuses varied from not being able to find a date to saying that dances are just lame in general.
I have since then come to an understanding that school dances have been perceived as “uncool” ever since we were little kids. Whether that be shown in movies, TV shows, or overhearing your older siblings, there were always people choosing to skip out on the dance or leave early just because it was considered uncool to stay the whole time. By the time we finally hit high school, the interest in going to a dance wasn’t necessarily even there.
I know that, stereotypically, girls enjoy the fuss of picking out a dress, finding a date, and doing their hair and makeup before the dance—yet, it’s the same each time. You get ready, you take pictures with your date and friends, you go to the dance for 45 minutes at most, and then you head to a post party. I know this isn’t everyone’s experience, but I believe that it’s a waste of time to do all of these preparations just to stay for half an hour and mope around while you are there.
In a recent survey conducted with over 250 freshmen, sophomore, junior, and senior students from LFHS, 87.5% of students said that they attended the Homecoming dance this past fall, and 63.4% of the students said they were planning on attending the upcoming Winter Formal. This may still seem like a lot of people attending Winter Formal, but it is a significant drop of 24.1%.
However, junior Addington Leahy has decided not to attend the Winter Formal this year and plans to spend the weekend with her friends instead.
“Turnabout has always been my least favorite dance, and I never really had that good of a time while I was there,” said Leahy. “This year, I didn’t see any point in going, so I decided I’d rather just spend a weekend away with my friends than have to deal with the stress of it all.”
There is a subgroup of students, including junior Caitlin O’Shea, who wish they could attend these dances yet unfortunately can’t due to prior commitments.
“The dances have been some of my favorite high school memories so far, so it’s very disappointing that I have a conflict during Turnabout this year,” said O’Shea. “Also, the stigma surrounding dances, especially Turnabout, is so unnecessary. You shouldn’t feel stressed over a date; instead, you should just make the most of the night. School dances can be great experiences if you let yourself enjoy them.”
Like many other activities, if you go into the dance with a positive attitude, you’re more likely to make the most of your time and have some fun. Everything in life is only as fun as you make it!
