Every year, as I scroll through my social media apps around prom season, I see more and more extravagant promposals. A promposal is a play on the word ‘proposal,’ where usually a boy will ask a girl to prom with a sign or gift. In my opinion, it used to be a sweet, surprising gesture to impress someone you have been admiring, but now it has turned into something expected.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good promposal. The cheesy posters, creative outfits, group choreo, I think all of it is hilarious and endearing. In my opinion, however, I enjoy them more when someone is taking a risk with who they ask. I want to see extravagant promposals for unexpected pairings, where when they say ‘yes,’ everyone cheers. My dad says that back when he was in high school, he would just ask a random girl every year just for the nerves of whether she would say yes. I think we should bring that back. ‘Promposing’ to your girlfriend or boyfriend can be sweet, but nobody is nervous because it’s definitely going to be a yes.
If you’re dating someone, I presume that both of you would already know you are attending prom as a couple. That extra step of asking with a gift is very sweet, but when it’s asked for, then it feels more like a chore than something special to do. I believe that whoever is promposing should do it all on their own accord, or not do it at all. Make it a surprise, make it special, make it thoughtful. In general, having to ask your partner to do nice things can be draining, and if you find promposals very special and have always wanted one, I think that your partner should already know that and it shouldn’t be a thing to continually ask for.
Overall, I am definitely a fan of promposals- don’t get me wrong. However, I think that social media has put unrealistic expectations on what they should be. If you’re in a relationship, I don’t think a promposal should be mandatory, but it can be a sweet gesture. Regardless, I can’t wait to see the videos this year.
