If the media shows us couples going together in dances, and whether we may say so or not, school culture tells us that we should have a date, how are we supposed to feel when we don’t? Realistically, going to a school dance without a date does not matter. At all. Going in a group of friends can even end up being more fun- less pressure, less money, and less stress trying to find a date. Even though this is true, students, including myself, still feel pressure to find a date in order to go to a dance.

All throughout my childhood, I watched TV shows and movies that ended with the couple together, going to the dance and having gotten there with some sort of elaborate proposal, whether that’s singing a song in front of the whole soccer team or asking with a sign. The goal of the whole movie was to get the two people together and at the dance, and it happened, along with everyone else in the movie magically finding a date.

Social media shows dance proposals with cute signs at sports games or during school, but there generally isn’t anything on people who go without dates. It pushes the idea that having a date is necessary to have fun into our minds and disregards those who choose to do otherwise. Personally I would never judge someone for going alone or in a group of friends, and I know most of my peers wouldn’t either, but, even though this is true we still feel the pressure to find a date for the night.