I don’t want you to sit at our table! Our dresses are too similar! I still don’t have a dress or a date! With Prom rapidly approaching on April 27 all these problems and more have been magnified, and the magnitude of these worries is significantly increasing as the clock counts down. It’s a whole new kind of drama. A sort of drama that can only be known as one thing: Prama.

Spring break is over, and Prom is but weeks away. Upperclassmen (and some sophomores)  sit in anticipation for the big event, and many of them worry over the variables that must be set into place before the magical day. Their key worries can be organized into two categories: problems that should have been taken care of before Spring Break and problems that are meant to be taken care of now: your date and ideally your dress, and your table arrangement, respectively.

Keep in mind there is leeway for the first. Beautiful dresses can be found the week of Prom and dates can spring up out of nowhere. But , ladies and gentlemen, if these two variables had been solidified before break, some prama could have been avoided.

Let’s start with the dress situation. I have found that most girls already have a Prom dress in mind by the time they get back from Winter Break. I say this loosely with a little exaggeration, but for the most part girls have a general idea of the dress they would like to wear to Prom starting early on. Now to all those ladies who did and followed through, great job to you for buying your dress before break! You saved yourself from some prama. To all you ladies who didn’t, do not worry. The dress should be the least significant cause of prama. They are easier to come by than dates. Let’s transition.

This next paragraph is mostly directed to all the lovely male Prom-goers. Dates are easily the number one cause of prama, so please boys, save yourself and all the ladies some stress and next time ask your date to Prom before spring break. Imagine being a girl and being but weeks away from Prom with no handsome boy to go with. How would you feel? “Stressed” is the correct answer. Now I’m not disregarding the feelings of boys who don’t know who to ask; it’s tough. And I understand the romantic connotation of Prom dates, but if you don’t want to go stag, ask someone to go as friends! No strings attached. You’ll probably have more fun than all the couples who barely know each other.

Another note about going stag: I do not understand the problem with this. Sure, it maybe be nice to have a date, but is that really what the night is all about? I can guarantee you would have more fun dancing with your friends than dancing with a date who you either dislike or literally do not know. Don’t force a date. If it comes it comes, and if it doesn’t, don’t worry. As the wise Christian Aguilera once said, you are still “beautiful, no matter what [your peers] say.”

Now ideally all of the above would have been taken care of prior to break. It’s when this has to be taken care of afterwards when it causes prama.

So you have a date, you have a dress, now what? Tables. Why are table arrangements such a cause of prama? Because people fail to understand that you will literally be sitting with these people for the time it takes to eat a meal. After that, you can move to any table you would like and sit with anyone you would like. The amount of time you spend sitting with your table mates is so insignificant compared to the time you spend doing various other Prom activities, so cut the prama on this one. You won’t die if you don’t sit with all your best friends.

Here is the reality: Girls will wear similar dresses, people will go without dates, and you may be sitting with people you didn’t necessarily wanted to sit with (who maybe make you want to stab your eyes out with your high heel). But guess what? You will still have fun. Don’t let the petty prama get in the way of enjoying your Prom. After all, you only have two in your lifetime (maybe more if you’re lucky).

You have 16 days left. See you there!