Updated May 17, 2024 at 3:00 PM ET
It's prom season, and we asked you to share stories from that special night, whether you went last year or decades ago.
We received many heartwarming stories about going to prom with friends, future spouses and high school sweethearts.
Some people told us they didn't go to prom at all — or didn't go with a date. Some people learned big lessons at their prom, while others had unforgettable mishaps.
Here are some of the memories you shared with us. And remember that you can participate in future callouts by signing up for NPR's Up First newsletter.
Day-of mishaps didn't stop the celebrations
Marshall Metcalf from Taylorville, Ill. recalls how, after walking into his prom, his "nose exploded in a spontaneous fountain of blood."
It was "Kind of like Footloose, without the fighting or dancing. Just an enormous nosebleed, all down the white rented shirt," Metcalf wrote. "I dove into the bathroom to clean up, terribly embarrassed. But to my great surprise no one commented on it the rest of the night. Guess my classmates weren't that bad after all."
Anthony Rodas from Wisconsin almost crashed his car when his date mentioned she was dating someone else. "On the way there, she nonchalantly mentions, 'Oh, by the way, that guy is my boyfriend.' I drove through a stop sign — which has flashing red lights below the sign as well as little LEDs around the signs themselves, the least excusable stop sign to run — as I am processing what had just happened," Rodas wrote. His date was a little startled and concerned, but no one was hurt and they made it safely to prom. "It was rather awkward, and we spent a good portion of the prom doing our own things, but we did dance to a few songs and still ended up having a good time," Rodas wrote.
Josh Waters in Georgia wrote that his "prom date was so mad at me because I refused to wait in line for pictures right when we got there."
After three hours of dancing to Boyz II Men, the pair looked "a sweaty mess. However, it must not have made her that mad," Waters wrote. "We just celebrated 16 years of marriage."
Prom night was clouded by difficult times, personal and political, for some
Robin Dias of Scottsdale, Ariz. went to prom in Darien, Conn. in 1968, as unrest around the Vietnam War reached its peak. The spring was fraught with protests, political unrest and the assassinations of two of America's most high profile leaders, Martin Luther King and Robert F Kennedy. Dias wrote that "It almost seemed wrong to want to dress like a princess at a ball when there was so much turmoil," Dias wrote.
She recalled her mother standing in her bedroom, ironing while the TV blared with the news of the MLK funeral march. Dias' mother sighed, and said aloud, "It's all so terrible. But I really hope the school won't cancel the proms this spring. You kids still deserve to have your Prom Night."
Casey Promise Thompson was one of the only openly gay students at her prom night in her small town in Tennessee.
"I walked in, nervous of people's reactions to me wearing a tux. I had lived a life of being severely bullied and not being the best at making friends. But I had evolved over time and tried to learn to connect to others through art," Thompson wrote to us.
She would give away her doodles and sketches all the time. She estimates she probably gave away hundreds of drawings. So, it came as no surprise that by senior year, she was voted "Most Talented" by her classmates.
Of course, this would mean that she would have to get on stage at prom and accept her award with all the other superlatives. "I was immediately nervous and sick to my stomach," she wrote. "Instead of the expected cold shoulder and fear of being laughed at, they all smiled and welcomed me."
Thompson learned an important lesson that day: "It suddenly dawned on me that my art had made an impact. Everyone did know who I was. I had actually been a popular kid my Senior year and I didn't even know it. My brain had built up this idea that no one liked me all of these years, and right before I graduated high school...I finally learned that people actually did respect and appreciate me. My art has made me into someone."
Romantic dates weren't always the focus of prom
Karley Ford in Colorado told us that she "had the worst luck with getting dates to... literally any dance. I was just perpetually single. Prom was no exception. Junior prom, my date got swine flu. Senior prom, my date decided to go with someone else– one week – before prom. I had already gotten his boutonniere in 2010.
At senior prom, Ford said she expected to be depressed because she was going alone. One of her good friends asked Ford to join her as her "date" a couple days before. The "best thing" for Ford was that the memory was preserved in a very special photo (featured above).
"We had been friends since grade school, and it was one of the last hurrahs together before going off to college or wherever the wind took us," Ford wrote. "Despite me not having a date, my childhood friends all rallied together, made sure that I had reasons to smile and reminded me that I am never alone (and I didn't need a stinkin' date)."
Going with a friend also made things 10 times more fun for Laura Popielski in Washington D.C. "My best friend and I decided to go to prom months before the date. He was gay and I was a bit of a wallflower when it came to dating/boys so it made good sense to go together," Popielski wrote. "Nine years later, he passed away and now it's been ten years since that... and I still remember how fun it was to collaborate with him, how we were the perfect pair."
Some who didn't attend prom are stamping their own traditions on the day
Ananya Paul grew up in India and never went to prom. Now in California, she "will be making memories when my rising Junior wears a saree to her prom. Our children take pride in celebrating and showcasing their culture." Paul wrote that it is "heartening" to see more students wear traditional attire like sarees or lehengas to prom in recent years.
"What's also intriguing is how my daughter has chosen to go to prom with her girlfriends rather than a date. It speaks volumes about the evolving dynamics of friendship and independence among today's youth," Paul wrote. "It's these unique cultural shifts and personal choices that make each prom season special and memorable in its own way."
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.9(MDAxODcyMTgzMDEyMTgxMTY5NjYxN2I4OQ004) "A bloody nose, a last hurrah for friends, and more prom memories you shared with us (1)")
Transcript
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
An update on prom season. We asked NPR listeners to share their favorite prom memories, whether they went to prom last year or decades ago. Some of you told us about the outfits you wore.
UNIDENTIFIED NPR LISTENER #1: I walked in nervous of people's reactions to me wearing a tux.
UNIDENTIFIED NPR LISTENER #2: I wore a dress from David's Bridal 'cause that's what you do.
UNIDENTIFIED NPR LISTENER #3: My mom made me this baby-blue velvet sash. And he said, all right, well, I'll rent a baby-blue tux.
CHRISTINA STERK: Oh, yes, the dress was red. The heels were red.
INSKEEP: In the early 2000s, Christina Sterk (ph) was the girl in Dorothy heels at her prom. Now she's a middle school science teacher in West Virginia. She says she started preparing for prom early, years early.
STERK: I don't know why I was so fixated on prom in sixth grade. But I just remember hanging out with my friend Andre. We were buddies. And I was just like, Andre, will you be my date for prom when we're in 12th grade? And he was like, yeah, sure, you know? Like, by the time we made it to high school, it was about, you know, 2001. And we were just, I think, hanging out at lunch or something one day. And he just was like, hey, do you still want to go to prom in 12th grade? I was like, heck yeah. I was like, that's great. You know, I was, like, actually shocked that he remembered.
INSKEEP: Wow, that was easy. Some people carried out elaborate prom-posals. Here's a recent example from 19-year-old college student Andrew McKile (ph).
ANDREW MCKILE: I painted this big banner, maybe 30 feet, with prom, question mark? Then one night, I snuck out and I drove to this construction site near our high school that had a tall crane. I climbed it very slowly - it took all night - went home, maybe got a little bit of sleep. Right away, as soon as we got there, I marched her out to the fields with her back facing the banner and then turned her around, pointed up at the sky. And, yeah, that is it.
INSKEEP: Oh, man. Imagine if she'd refused to go. Some of you told us you skipped prom. Kaylie Brewster (ph) in Lewiston, Idaho, spent prom night with her sister.
KAYLIE BREWSTER: We made Brownies. She had a CD of Disney songs, so we danced around the living room with the lights turned off listening to that, singing along as loudly as we could.
INSKEEP: Of those who did go, not everybody went with a traditional date.
LAURA PAKALSKI: I went with my best friend.
INSKEEP: Laura Pakalski (ph) grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., and said that going with a friend did not make the prom any less special.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "UNCHAINED MELODY")
THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS: (Singing) Whoa, my love.
PAKALSKI: The theme of our prom was "Unchained Melody."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "UNCHAINED MELODY")
THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS: (Singing) I've hungered for your touch.
PAKALSKI: And, yeah, of course, you had to dance to it. And we just, like, were cringing the whole time. We didn't worry about who were we sitting with and where we were going afterwards. We were just like, we're going to go and have fun.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "UNCHAINED MELODY")
THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS: (Singing) And time goes by so slowly.
INSKEEP: Others had some mishaps on their special day. Here's Marshall Metcalf (ph) in Taylorville, Ill.
MARSHALL METCALF: Just as we walked into the hall, my nose exploded in blood.
(SOUNDBITE OF KENNY LOGGINS SONG, "FOOTLOOSE")
METCALF: Just like "Footloose" but without the fights and the cool dance scene. I dove into the bathroom to try to clean up my white shirt and my embarrassment. To my surprise, when I rejoined the party, nobody teased me about the incident. Maybe my classmates weren't so bad after all.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FOOTLOOSE")
KENNY LOGGINS: (Singing) Now I gotta cut loose, footloose. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
