By Comet Ziemer
Benicia High School held its 2024 Prom dance over the weekend, and half of the school’s population got decked out in their best dresses and suits and drove into Oakland to have an eventful evening. As someone who was there that night, let me tell you my honest opinions about everything prom had to offer, including the venue, food, music, and overall energy.
Prom already started with slightly off energy considering it was held on a very cold and rainy day in the Bay Area. Many photo plans went down the drain because people had to settle for photos in their houses instead of their pretty backyards. But by the time the event started, it had mostly stopped raining and was just very cold.
Walking into the venue, I noticed a few things at first. One, it was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. For paying $160 for my ticket, I was expecting something a lot bigger, like that venue that held the 2023 prom. When walking in, guests were immediately thrown into the crowd of the dance floor. That was something that annoyed me a lot of the night. The dance floor was right in the middle of the venue, with seating and photo areas on opposite sides. In order to take photos and then go to my table to eat, my group had to weave our way through the dance floor and avoid getting shoved.
However, one upside was having the ability to not only print my pictures there at the venue, but also have them texted to me. It made it really easy to keep track of all the photos I liked and to post on social media. And I did really enjoy having multiple photo areas because it made each line shorter.
In terms of the food, I ate before I got to the venue, so I didn’t have any of the dinner options that were served. But from the people I asked, the food wasn’t really anything special. They had options such as a self-serve taco bar, macaroni and cheese, and salads. Dessert was actually something I tried, and my favorite item had to be the rice krispie s’mores bites. I had about 10 before I eventually left the venue. I would gladly eat those all over again.
Now, school dance music is never usually something that wins with me. I am not someone who listens to a whole lot of recent rap music, which has become the majority of school dance playlists in the past few years. So, half of the songs were songs that neither me nor my friends really knew. We eventually got into a routine of getting on the dance floor for about 15 minutes when we knew the songs, leaving to go eat once we stopped knowing the songs, and coming back to dance a few minutes later. It was a nice way for my group and I to keep ourselves paced, but I wished that they had a larger variety of songs. The music that they played was basically just rap music, then 2010’s pop. It also has been a growing trend the past few years that school dances are playing less and less “slow dance” songs. I am not in a relationship with anyone, but I enjoy having nice slow dances with my friends. The two “slow dance” songs that were played were just lower paced rap, which wasn’t really the mood I was looking for.
But everyone who went to prom looked absolutely stunning. I was blown away by all of the pretty outfits and dresses. I love dressing up fancy, so these kinds of events are always my favorite.
Overall, prom was pretty alright for me. There is always room for improvement, but I had a lot of fun with my friends, and I loved my dress. When I attend dances, I always care more about having fun with my friends over the actual dance. And I can confirm that I had a lot of fun.
beniciapaw.com 