The abrupt shriek of the alarm clock pulls her out of her sleep, startled, she starts fumbling around, finding the ‘off’ button eventually. Wondering why in the world she would wake up this early on a Saturday, her senses come to her, today is prom day.

Instantly, a huge grin springs upon her face.

The next 5 hours are a collection of all the pre-prom rituals girls perform every year, endlessly preparing and adjusting.

And that’s just for starters.

On March 22nd a good 400 students gathered at 7:00pm in the Sacramento Grand Ballroom for junior prom. The dance was well organized; all students were given clear instructions for the journey and there was minimal hassle entering the dance. The hall itself was – who knew – grand, decorated with chandeliers and topped off with an impressive ceiling design.

Sitting down at the tables, the cracks started to appear. Hungry students found an appetizer of salad on their arrival, but it wasn’t especially tasteful nor interesting. One table found what seemed to be a lice-like bug on their lettuce.

However, there was faith in the main course to rectify the starter. Kicking the night off to a better start. Proving pointless, what came next was tepid meat served with potato salad and a dish of cold chicken slapped down onto plates.

Hope was slowly fading for the ‘best night ever’. Thus far, the night was not even scraping the bar Junior Prom is expected to reach. Feelings of anger, disappointment and hopelessness arose.

Students were allowed to escape from the dinner at 8:00 pm. An announcement came soon after, informing that the dessert table was now open, sending empty stomachs into a frenzy of trying to grab all that they could. Although arguably the best of the 3 course dinner, the desserts were not anything special; not differing much from such desserts available in SafeWay.

Shuffling onto the dance floor, the students found themselves in a quite confined space, not having much room to maneuver. Whilst when dangerous behavior sprung up the music was paused, inappropriate dancing was overlooked – making it awkward for the students having to stand by them.

Moreover, the theme was branded as America in the 1920’s – ‘Putting on the Ritz’ – however, few songs were played of that era.

For an average student, the most gleeful memories from the night came outside of the event itself. Escaping in party buses and limousines, heading for after parties and gatherings.

Judging from this years performance, prom is an over hyped event.  On the other hand, although it may not have been the best night of one’s life, it was, nevertheless, a night well spent.