Traditions come from somewhere. Some traditions are started because of a family memory or just an activity that everyone enjoys. Some are hyped up by marketing execs and some are religious in nature. The scope of a tradition can be anything from food, to a holiday, or think of this one, throwing rice at a wedding. Well okay, update that, we all have to throw birdseed, because rice was not good for the birds. Anyway, back to why I am writing this short, traditions.
Prom is just around the corner and I thought about where a high school prom comes from. I mean the tradition is certainly there. But how did it become a tradition celebrated every year? I don’t have much time for research, so history.com it is.
The idea of a prom goes back to a right of passage for teenagers back to the ancient Greeks. It evolved from there to debutante balls and formal dances to step into adulthood. From there, colleges picked up the effort until the tradition moved down into high schools. Of course, marketing and the teen consumer took over, and all of the formal traditions of prom began in earnest. Well enough of a mini history lesson, because the real point I hope to share is about the season and communication.
This week, even though I say many times, I am lucky enough to be the principal at Springfield High School, I will be more of the nervous father all week to around 450 kids as we take in the tradition of prom. I am excited, of course, but the father in me sometimes makes this a tough week. So I share and ask this favor of all of you out there as we celebrate the season. Talk to the kids about your expectations. This Thursday, I will sit the students down and talk to them about this weekend and what it means. I will share first about celebrating the night no matter what is going on. Enjoy the opportunity to be young. If your date does not say the right thing or something goes wrong with the evening, don’t stress. Enjoy the moment, enjoy your friends and enjoy being young. Don’t argue if someone is late picking you up, don’t worry if your hair is not perfect, and no matter what, no drama. Be young.
The next thing I will turn to though is more serious. Make good decisions. Be young, but take care of each other. Don’t take unnecessary chances when it comes to any behavior that will and does cause harm. Be the person that says not for me, and move on to the fun things in the night so that you can be young one more time. Don’t take chances and end up in drama or worse.
Parents, enjoy the pictures and the fun of getting ready for prom. Take the stress in stride and say a little prayer for me as I say a little prayer for all of you. In all of this excitement though, take the time to sit down and have a heart to heart about being safe. Discuss how to handle a bad situation and let your child know that you are there for them, if needed. Remind them that this is a great time to be young, but it is a rite of passage to adulthood and with adulthood, you need to make good decisions.
