Before there were promposals…

Now days asking someone to the prom or even the Homecoming dance has turned into quite an ordeal. I’m not knocking the creative way guys and girls are asking their dates to the dance. There have been plenty of neat videos and pictures posted on social media. Instead, I’m going to share my not so successful “promposals” from more than 25 years ago.

My junior year I had debated asking a girl to prom that I had been crushing on since 8th grade. If you read the Christmas Crush blog from my freshmen year, she’s the same girl. But now I was in 11th grade, driving and had gained some confidence. Or so I thought.

After talking with a mutual friend who didn’t squash the idea, I came up with a plan. I was going to wait for her outside soccer practice (her’s, not mine), hand her a pink rose and ask her to go to prom with me. Keep in mind I was still painfully shy and introverted beyond belief and hadn’t engaged in more than a couple of conversations with this girl.

So there I stood in the school parking lot with a rose in my sweaty hand, waiting. My heart was pounding through my chest and the more I stood there thinking, the more I wanted to a b-line for my car and leave. But then I remembered how much I wanted this date to happen.

She walked into the parking lot alone and I walked up to her and attempted to hand the rose over and nervously asked, “Will you go to prom with me?” She paused and looked me in the eye and said, “I have a boyfriend.” I could feel my face turn a much brighter shade of pink than the rose in my hand. I apologized and quickly got the hell out of dodge. I saw another mutual friend leaving the field and jumped into her car and professed my act of stupidity. How could I not know she had a boyfriend? (She really did). I was so embarrassed.

I was down and out for the junior prom but vowed to find a date for my senior year. My first “promposal” was a simple handwritten note that I passed in between classes. I was friends with this girl but had developed a bit of a crush. She agreed to go but was under the impression it was to be as friends. A few weeks later she broke it off when I expressed interest in having a relationship.

I remained vigilant and actually conjured up the testicular fortitude to call a girl on the phone and actually hold a conversation. I asked her to go with me to the dance and she agreed. We went out a few times after that, but later that summer I headed off to college where a few months later I met my future wife.

I wrote this blog for a couple of reasons, it’s prom season and people tend to enjoy reading my tales of teen angst. I also wrote it because if a high school aged student is reading it, I hope it inspires you to step outside of your comfort zone. I did it a couple of times and failed, but eventually, I found love.

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