With prom quickly approaching, MHS students find creative ways to ask their chosen date. Promposals have become a popular gesture for high school students.
With prom getting closer, new ways of asking out a date arise.
A proposal in which a person asks another to prom is often called a “Promposal.” Promposals can be as simple as passing a note asking the question or riding in a helicopter to see the word prom spelled out in the sky.
Senior Jacob Klein asked his girlfriend senior Ashley Peters to prom last year via a scavenger hunt.
“Junior year I set up a scavenger hunt in various places that are significant to my relationship,” Klein said. “Each place that she went to was a letter spelling prom. So, there was five places, including the question mark.”
Junior Cole Smith promposed to his girlfriend this year utilizing wordplay.
“I had a poster board that said, ‘Quit horsing around and go to prom with me,’ and I went to her house when she wasn’t home and wrote ‘Prom?’ on her horse,” Smith said.
A bold version that has gained popularity is students making videos asking celebrities to be their date. The few who are acknowledged by celebrities are usually told that he or she is too busy; however, a lucky few have been able to go with their dream date. Celebrities including Rihanna, Drake and Taylor Swift have attended proms with their fans.
A problem that prom-goers may have to face with these promposals, depending on how extravagant the asking may be, is the cost. Despite the large amount of money already spent on attire, transportation, dinner, tickets and so on, a nationwide survey released in March by Visa Inc. stated that the average American household with teens will spend an extra $324 solely on promposals. Klein said he believes there are limits to how elaborate the proposal should be.
“There’s definitely a boundary with them.
I think as long as you show that you care for the other person and you do it in a way that isn’t too extraordinary,” Klein said. “There’s a boundary with everything. It should be well done, but you shouldn’t lose sleep over it.”
While the thought of being asked elaborately may appeal to some, it can put a lot of pressure on the person asking and can make the person being asked uncomfortable and pressured into saying yes.
Peters said she believes that while promposals are fun, they might not appeal to everybody.
“I think they are really sweet,” Peters said. “Obviously it’s not really for everybody because some people are really shy or that’s not really how their relationship is, but definitely it’s kind of fun in a way to start off prom.”
