The dresses. The suits. The music. The memories to remember for years to come. Prom season was a time to be remembered. It’s a season full of mixed emotions, starting from stressing about what to wear to the big dance to being excited (or frightened) about graduating high school and starting a new chapter. The highlight of this time is the “Promposal.” Traditionally performed for girls, but increasingly for boys, these Promposals continued to excite many. A promposal is when one person creates a meaningful and thoughtful way to ask a friend, crush, or significant other to go to the Prom with them. Some think these promposals are corny or outdated, but these acts of devotion are, in reality, very special and thoughtful.
The word Promposal is derived from the idea of a wedding proposal and is a fairly new word as people started using it in 2011, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (merriam-webster.com). Whether a real word or not, many think these gestures are silly or childish rather than seeing them as acts of love and appreciation. But these people do not understand that special feeling until being in that moment. In high school, love can be very challenging and overwhelming, but experiencing a Promposal is almost cinematic, creating an indescribable feeling that makes for a great romantic story and memories that last a lifetime.
It is also thought that these Proposals need to be extravagant and expensive, but truthfully, it is the sentimental value that counts most ofall. It can be as simple as a poster or some flowers, but everyone is different and dreams of different things, so it is just important to make the person receiving the Promposal feel special. For example, on a poster one can use creative language or poetry to create a question incorporating something the person receiving it enjoys or connects with. Not only do these make memories but they create an unforgettable feeling of love when one receives this type of unexpected gesture from someone.
Senior Kylee Park was Promposed by her boyfriend, Senior Christian Legler. He had contacted Park’s mom days prior, asking for her permission and for her help in making it a surprise. Legler connected their shared love for the sport of wrestling to ask Park with a handmade sign that stated, “Let’s takedown Prom two (hand peace sign emoji) -gether,” alongside a bouquet of pink roses, chocolate, and a stuffed bear. Park described this experience as very shocking, considering she wasn’t even thinking about going to Prom, and she is extremely happy. She admitted that in that moment she was so emotional, she even teared up. Legler described this experience as very exciting and said, “Promposals are awesome, in my opinion, because they gave me the opportunity to do something special for Kylee.” Park stated, “I think Promposals are fun, exciting events and whoever gets to go through the experience is very, very lucky, because it just brings a lot of excitement to the whole concept of going to Prom.”
These loving gestures of someone going out of their way to make their loved one feel special truly capture a movie-like and fairytale moment that almost everyone dreams of. They create lifelong lasting memories that can forever be shared and relived. Promposals show the value of a sweet teen romance or friendship and represent the true high school experience.