Dating Dilemmas: Homecoming dance creating partner pressures

The pressure of finding a date for the upcoming school dance has struck many CFHS attendants.

Senior Josh Jensen said, “I came from a school where it was a big deal to have a date. Not just if you had one, but who it was. Even though no one would give you hard time about it, you still felt like you were a total failure if you goofed up.”

Despite pledging to look past it, senior Summer Pieters recognized the stress society puts on having a date. She said, “I think that society creates the illusion that people need a date to have fun or to validate their worth. Last year I went alone to prom by choice and many people made comments like, ‘Don’t worry, Summer, you still look good even though you don’t have a date,’ as if having a date was an accessory I was missing rather than a person I was choosing to hang out with for the night.”

Several students have witnessed peers showing stress about finding and asking a date to the homecoming dance.

Senior Elizabeth Relph said, “I know a few people that have been actively searching for dates and been really stressed out about it.” Pieters added, “I have totally seen girls stress about dates. They have told me they worry about embarrassing themselves by going alone, and how they feel like they need a date to have fun.”

Students sadly admit to seeing students not attend the dance due to the inability to find a partner.

Upperclassmen student Kabeer Barbee said, “People feeling lonely about not having a date is an extremely common experience in high school. Some will choose to stay home rather than go to the dance. They think that not having a date will embarrass them.”

Relph added, “A lot of people are hesitant to go to the dance without a date, and sometimes that is the deciding factor of whether they go or not. The people that decide not to go for that reason are missing out, and it’s just really sad.”

Pieters reminded others that going alone or with friends can be just as enjoyable. “It is seriously OK to go alone,” she said. “I have been the girl that is scared to be dateless, but I have found that it is a smaller deal than I make it to be. There are so many people that also don’t have dates, so you are never the only one. It’s possible to have fun and make memories without a date.”

Though finding a date for the dance may add extra stress to many students this year, Barbee advised others to look ignore the stress and enjoy events.

“The only advice that I can give to guys would be to realize that they aren’t alone,” Barbee said. “A huge amount of people will not have a date to homecoming, but they will still go. For the new sophomores in our school, I would highly recommend going to the dance, even if you don’t have a date. It is a fun experience that only comes once a year.”

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