Dances in general are stressful because of all the planning that surrounds them. Girls have to worry about their dress, accessories, hair and makeup. Boys have to worry about getting the tickets and matching their ties dates dress. Although dances always end up being a night to remember, the stresses of getting there are immense.

By far the most stressful aspect of school dances are figuring out where to take pictures. Prom has extra pressure because people feel they need to have extravagant pictures. People go to more extravagant places usually, like Forest Park, than just the typical front yard Homecoming pictures.

Being off for a week for Spring Break and then having Prom just two weeks after caught everyone off guard.

I have overheard several conversations between girls who are upset because their friend groups are splitting up for pictures because they don’t like their guy friends’ date or they are mad because they aren’t friends with their dates’ friends. Other girls are angry with their friends because they don’t want to take pictures at the same place.

For all of these girls, I have one piece of advice: stop the madness. Rather than spending weeks going back and forth with a bunch of girls on facebook group chat arguing about the “perfect” spot for pictures, I have decided to take a different approach. I let other people make all the plans and asked this morning what the plan was, literally an hour ago. I have enough going on right now between One Acts, homework, dance classes and work that having one less thing to worry about was exactly what I needed.

I have been much less stressed this year about Prom than I was last year. My mom keeps saying this is so unlike me, to rely on others to make plans, but I must say it has caused me a lot less stress and granted me a lot more peace of mind.