I was thinking so much about prom back when I was in high school. It was the event everyone looked forward to, right? But there I was, 17 and feeling like I was missing out on something huge because I didn’t have a date. I borrowed this super cool outfit from my cousin. She went to a different school the year before and rocked it at her prom. Still, I worried I would stick out like a sore thumb without someone by my side. I could picture all these couples having their Hollywood moments while I stood there awkwardly holding a solo cup in the corner.

I seriously considered skipping it altogether because of this whole no-date situation. Part of me thought maybe it would be better than letting my anxiety eat me alive the whole night. But the other part was scared I would regret not going years down the line when everyone was sharing throwback pictures and stories about their amazing nights. You know those Instagram reels where people post old photos captioned "can't believe this was X years ago"? Yeah, exactly that.

I kept going back and forth in my head, debating everything from “what if I feel out of place” to “who cares if I have fun.” Sometimes it felt like high school was just one big party, and you were either a part of it or watching from behind glass doors wishing you had joined sooner. Did anyone else feel that way too? Was going alone really as bad as it sounded?

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