Prom last year didn’t go as I thought it would, with my friends and I having a hard time dancing to the rap music the DJ played almost the entire night. And we weren’t alone either–hardly anyone seemed to be dancing or singing along to the music. The funniest thing to happen that night was when the American flag was projected onto the big screen, and people started to leave. I love America as much as anybody else, but the last thing I was thinking about at prom was my patriotism. Like every other student there, all I wanted to do was dance with my friends and have a good time. 

Because of my prom experience, my expectations for the Blizzard Ball were low. But the Blizzard Ball was much better than last year’s prom–probably because it was planned by the student council instead of parents. 

My friend and I accidentally arrived at the dance a whole forty minutes early. We severely underestimated how long it would take for us to grab some Dairy Queen and drink our milkshakes. But we still had a good time rocking out to the Encanto soundtrack in my car, even though we probably looked like idiots laughing in a random car in an empty, dark parking lot.  

With “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” still playing in my head, I was already in a good mood. After I walked into the fairgrounds building, I noticed the layout of the dance was a little strange. In the middle of the room, several chairs were set out, with five tables at each side of the dance floor. It was a bit awkward having chairs in the middle of the room, but I think they were there to separate the dancefloor from the coat racks and entrance area. Another strange thing was the lights that were on in the front half of the room. When everyone was first coming into the dance, it made sense to have these lights on so people could see to put their stuff down on the tables. I assumed that someone would turn the lights off at 9 p.m. when the doors closed for the dance, but this didn’t happen.   

So, with the bright lights on above us and the now-dull lights set on top of the speakers, my friend and I stood around awkwardly chatting while several cliques of other students from Helena High and Capital did the same. Like all dances, the beginning was awkward, and the music had not begun to play yet. Soon, though, some country music started playing and people began crowding around the speakers; the dance had begun. 

And after the awkwardness at the beginning, I had fun! I saw some of my other friends and started talking with them and before we knew it, we had forgotten about the annoying lights and the random chair placement. 

While the inevitable country song here and there was playing, my friends and I would stop and get glasses of lemonade and water, which I appreciated. After all, dancing is hard work, people. After the dance, there were also crates of cookies, crackers and chips for students to take, which I took full advantage of. Nothing beats some free Oreos!  

As is the case with every school dance, everyone who attends has a different opinion on how it was. But besides the lights being on the whole time and a slow country song thrown into the mix of pop and rap songs, the dance was a lot of fun for me! In the end, dances are what we make of them; if we have a positive attitude going into something, we’ll be more likely to have a positive experience. This is the same for school dances and everything else. So, Bengals, let’s thank student council members for a great dance! I can’t wait until prom!