This American Life: Prom

Yesterday I listened to an audio documentary on This American Life about prom. There were four different stories about proms across the country. One of the stories was about author Francine Pascal, who has written over 700 books. She said at least 500 of these mention prom, about between 30 and 40 of them actually take place at prom. She talked about how prom is an important event for teenagers because it gives them a chance to dress up and mature for a night, like adults going out to an event. Another story was about basically your typical prom. They followed a group of seniors around the whole night, talking to them about dancing, dresses, and after parties. In a different story, the prom in Racine, Wisconsin was covered. In Racine, prom is televised like a movie premiere, and they even have a red carpet. The kids there said they felt like celebrities. Almost everyone in the town watches prom every year on TV. The most interesting story in the show was about a prom in Hoisington, Kansas. The students told the story about their senior prom, and how they had no idea a tornado was ripping through their town. The students were all joking and laughing, even when the teachers made them hide in the basement; they didn't think the tornado would actually appear. When it was safe, they found that half of their town was gone, along with a lot of their houses and hangouts. It was definitely a prom they will never forget.
Being a senior, I'm very much looking forward to my own prom. This show gave examples of many different things that can happen at prom, and showed how they aren't all exactly the same. I thought it was cool to see how different towns celebrate their proms. Although I hope a freak tornado doesn't come through Baltimore this April!