Writing in Publications: TroJournal Blog
The Prom That May Never Be
Written by Jena Bacock, Junior
April 17, 2020
Prom is always one of the biggest events in high school, going out with your friends or a date, and getting dressed up to make memories to last a lifetime. It’s a night that will be remembered for the rest of your life. Every girl dreams of her prom night as being like a perfect fairytale in a beautiful dress, and a lot of boys plan to wear fancy tuxedos for the first time as they borrow grandpa’s convertible to drive to their senior prom. So this year, like all other years, the Whitmore Lake High School Class of 2021 got the opportunity to plan the prom for the graduating Class of 2020. Every year, the juniors plan the prom for the seniors, and both grades attend. The juniors wanted to make this night special for the seniors and give them one last gift since they grew up together since elementary school. Unfortunately, this year will be the year that broke all tradition. Due to the unfortunate events of the coronavirus, all spring events which include spring sports, prom, graduation, and #projectgrad celebrations have all been canceled or postponed.
By the beginning of March, Prom 2020 was on its way with the final preparations, and invitations were supposed to be going out March 16th; however, due to the virus, we never got to start selling tickets. Our last day of school was March 12th, and we never went back into the building. The coronavirus began to shut down businesses, restaurants, stores, and shops all over the world by Friday, March 13th. While what we only thought was going to be a two-week break, it eventually turned into a longer break as the days went on and Governor Whitmer continued to extend the Stay Home Stay Safe order.
A group of students in the Class of 2021 were endlessly planning the perfect prom for the seniors before COVID-19 changed our lives. Over the past year, the juniors have worked non-stop at concessions trying to raise enough money to make the prom memorable. The prom committee met every week or two to discuss what needed to be done and gather their ideas to make this prom one to be remembered. We would discuss every single detail of the prom, the perfect venue, the catered food, the thematic decorations, the photographers, the DJ and selected music, all the way down to the slightest detail like the white and lavender colors for the napkins and tablecloths. The DJ, Ms. Carbary, was set to come out and play special songs chosen to honor the seniors like their class song “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra. Ms. Carbary loves to DJ and help the Trojans. She has been one of the most influential teachers to both of the classes of 2020 and 2021 as both classes grew up with her guidance at the elementary school, and it only made sense for her to attend and contribute to such a big night. The prom committee made a playlist just for this night, some of the songs included the top hits of 2019 like songs by 21 Savage and Lil Uzi Vert, as well as some throwbacks like songs by Journey and Beyonce. Students of the prom committee also handcrafted the centerpieces and were planning to get together to make flower walls for the students to take pictures. Some of the plans created by the committee were the bubble machine, the buffet-style dinner, the dance floor, and the music. From the DJ to the food, Prom 2020 was coming together smoothly.
This year, prom would have been held on April 11th at Misty Farms in Ann Arbor. The prom committee chose this location as it reflected our prom theme, “Enchanted Forest”. Misty Farms supplied most of the decorations since it was already built into the barn, so it was perfect. The barn had fairy lights, tables, napkins, and catered food already supplied; we just had to come up with the minor details for the night. Last year’s prom was hard to beat with the theme casino organized by the Class of 2020. Ms. Taylor and the prom committee of 2019 worked hard to purchase personalized gambling chips and gifts for the attendees and rented tables and games that entertained the prom-goers all night.
However, the current prom committee and the administration are patiently waiting and collaborating to create some kind of celebration for the seniors. We haven’t lost hope yet. Mr. DeKeyser, Ms. Webber and Ms. Betz have discussed options for combining class efforts to put together a future event that will be remembered throughout years to come, as the Prom of 2020 sadly may never be.