Party Vibe

TBH I wouldn’t do drugs on this occasion; unless all your parents are liberal hippy types (in which case they’d be more likely to organise some more fun event for you and your friends than something which sounds like a scene straight out of a 1980s teen movie.

You are almost certain to feel guilt, angst and paranoia; added to which it would be difficult for all of you to refuse alcohol if there is a drinking culture associated with this event without your parents and your dates becoming suspicious. As others have said if you take booze and cannabis on top of one another you will feel very ill. Every year there are a few freakouts and moral panics worldwide when teenagers do this at end of high school celebrations….

there’s a few important cultural differences and global changes in society since my teens in the 1980s. We didn’t have school proms dances in European high schools in the 1980s; nor did we have to be driven about by our parents to the venues (not all our parents drove cars, or if they did they only had a single one and that was driven by the parent who worked furthest away so using it to transport children wasn’t feasible).

There were of course discos for young people run by the local youth club and indeed folk did drink and smoke cannabis at them; and these venues were with walking distance of the same high school (which you either walked or got a council bus to; even in 6th form car ownership was very rare) but even then there were a few minor casualties and ambulances being despatched; too many of these incidents and even then the youth club got pulled up on child safety rules and closed down. (I was a youth worker at one centre near my former high school in the early 1990s).

At least they gave the young people some confidentiality so if anything went pear shaped they were not shamed in front of their parents and other family members.

The UK has recently imported the concept of proms (even in Yorkshire they have them); and with it all the other social issues of these events.

I’d rather the young people of USA, UK or anywhere else were allowed to again start up their own music events without the meddling from corporate minded adults as to what the ideal celebrations of rites of passage should be..

@Requiem 596805 wrote:

Some good points GL. Schools seem very different places now to when I went.

I have been shocked myself at what teenagers and young adults in this region tell me about their schooldays; I’ve also noticed young adults who live in the same area they attended high school in are still judged for how they behaved in high school many years after leaving. This was already happening before proms and other US-style ideas crossed the water.

I am not sure what it is like in other European countries and whether they’ve adopted the same culture in schools (perhaps Mrs Robinson may know?) but its possible these days even though the rest of Europe was a lot more progressive (I’ve noticed a rise in people who come from religious high schools and universities in Europe and those tend to be stricter….)

In some ways I’m very lucky as I’ve ended up putting 200km between where I went to high school and where I am now; which actually managed to give me a few more chances at my youth :laugh_at:

as for the OP I’d suggest they “behave well” at the prom; just treat it as if its some other assesment that your teachers and school make you do as thats essentially what they’ve turned these events into. (its an assessment of your social skills and willingness to conform to your societies norms). assuming US school terms are roughly the same as Europe it won’t be long until end of term; all the SATS etc are done with and you have summer holidays. stay in touch with your schoolfriends; its way easier now surely with everyone having mobile phones and all this snapchat and whatsapp etc.

On the other bit of our site (partyvibe.com) there seem to be a lot of US EDM events which have only 16+ or 18+ age limits. You can go to these and have a lot more fun than a school prom… 😉