Unsure whether to go to prom

My school has an upcoming prom and I don't know whether or not to go. I really want to go, and I'm afraid of missing out - there's only one opportunity, after all. However, I don't have a date, nor do I have any friends to go with. I quite literally only have one friend, and I know she's not planning on going, as it's not quite her scene. I'm an extremely anxious person - I find it incredibly difficult to make friends, or even to start conversations. I've been going to this school for five years - I've had casual chit-chat hallway conversations, but I've never actually 'clicked' with anyone. I know that if I do go, I'll likely spend the whole night hiding out in a bathroom or standing in a corner, but I'm terrified of missing out or of being forgotten. I've dreamed of going to some big dance since I was a kid, and having that fairytale night. I don't know what to do.

I don't want to tell you want to do, because I'm not you and I honestly can't say what is best for you in this situation. With that said, I missed prom in high school. I didn't have a date, I didn't have friends, so I didn't go. I'm 41 now. And I have regretted going to prom exactly 0 times in my life. And as far as the whole "one opportunity" thing goes, sure, okay, yes, this may be your last chance to go to *prom*. With that said, my boyfriend in university invited me to his senior formal...which was a lot fancier than my high school prom would have been (they rented out the entire Monterey Bay Aquarium, had a gourmet caterer, multiple live bands, etc.). So I did that a few years later. A few years after that, a boyfriend invited me to the Grammys (for REAL!). So that was a thing, along with the after parties (which were fantastic and filled with actual celebrities). I also went to a huge number of parties in grad school, some of which were formal, some of which were less so. Even now that I'm older and more staid, I regularly dress up for the opera and ballet and go to dinner parties with friends. And while I was horribly unpopular in high school (to the extent that some of the other people *threw* things at me, and not long after a surgery that left me limping, I was deliberately tripped, causing me to slide down a huge muddy hill becoming filthy, while people taunted and laughed at me), as an adult I have a large, vibrant social circle and regularly have to *turn parties down* because I'm invited to too many at the same time to attend them all. So yeah, this may be your one chance at prom. But it is *absolutely* not your last chance at being able to dress up and have a fun party with friends. There are *so* many opportunities to have fun as an adult, if you seek them out. So go if you want to. I'd imagine that prom can be fun. (Again, for me, this is a hypothetical. Prom might have been fun for me, or it might have involved hiding in a bathroom, or it might have involved having a vat of pigs blood being poured on me. IDK.) But please, PLEASE do not fear that this is your last chance to dress up, dance, and have a great time. I assure you, there will be opportunities until you are on your deathbed, as long as you choose to seek them out.

Not going to prom, is not a big deal. Nobody I knew was going. We just ended up hanging out. I still cherish that memory. Been to a lot of school dances, but I enjoyed that night of just hanging out with friends more.

I wasn't very involved with things school, but I really wanted to go to prom. My boyfriend was in university and so he didn't really want to go with me to prom. I told him, "Either you go with me or I'll invite someone else to go with me." I didn't have anyone else to invite, but I wanted to go to prom so much that I would have kept asking people until I found someone to say yes. So my advice is to start asking people if they would like to go with you, and keep asking until you find the person who says yes. Maybe you even have a cousin or other family member who would go with you. I really enjoyed prom - dressing up and wearing a corsage felt like a fairy tale night, and I'm glad I went.

As a person who also thought about going or not, it's worth going. In general, there is nothing terrible about graduation. The idea of the prom is to spend a good time together with your friends, whom you will miss in the future. I suggest you going to event. You don't have to talk to everyone or joke around, it doesn't even matter what clothes you come in. You should feel it, when you have traveled such a long and thorny path during studying in school and now you are graduating from school. Since not everyone has the opportunity to spend money and arrange graduation parties, especially in a pandemic period. Because of this, I advise you to discard negative thoughts about it and go. After all, graduation is once in a lifetime. Remember, you don't owe anyone and no one owes you anything, so relax and have fun for your own pleasure.

As a person who also thought about going or not, it's worth going. In general, there is nothing terrible about graduation. The idea of the prom is to spend a good time together with your friends, whom you will miss in the future. I suggest you going to event. You don't have to talk to everyone or joke around, it doesn't even matter what clothes you come in. You should feel it, when you have traveled such a long and thorny path during studying in school and now you are graduating from school. Since not everyone has the opportunity to spend money and arrange graduation parties, especially in a pandemic period. Because of this, I advise you to discard negative thoughts about it and go. After all, graduation is once in a lifetime. Remember, you don't owe anyone and no one owes you anything, so relax and have fun for your own pleasure.