the last hurrah, the dance, and feeling glamorous

Last night was our dance.

Wow oh wow, it was the last hurrah, the last time I'm going to see some of these people ever again, and instead of crying as I am wont to do at functions like that, I had one of the best times of my life. I was getting ready with G and Jamie at G's house, and of course because I'm just so hoity-toity I got my hair straightened at a salon beforehand. Can I tell you, my hair was like silk. And ten pounds lighter than usual. It was almost flat against my head. I felt like a normal person with normal, flat hair! Oh, it was amazing.

So I had a really pretty white dress, and G had an amazing deep green dress, and Jamie's was green and blue and had a really gorgeous pattern. We were getting all dolled up--G's sister was straightening G's hair and curling the edges, Jamie was fretting about with her necklace and her hair, and I...well, I, truthfully, was photographing the whole thing. I decided to pass on makeup entirely and, to match my dress, go for an au naturale, beachy look (to be honest, it was inspired by the model on American Eagle's website wearing the same dress that I got!). My hair was already done, courtesy of Elsa at my mom's friend's salon, so I didn't have to worry. And my hair was so perfectly stick-straight and sleek that I was afraid to move.

We left G's house at seven, which was when the dance started, and got lost on our way to the restaurant-place where it was being held (of course, my sense of direction is in dire need of a GPS upgrade). Quite appropriately, the song being mini-mixed on the radio was "Glamorous" by Fergie. We definitely were glamorous =] and it felt AMAZING!!

So we arrived at the location at seven-thirty and I swear I could feel the music in my brain before we even stepped inside the doors. Jamie and G and I all didn't want to go first. I forget who offered, but we charged into the room with our heads held high. We didn't care about impressions anymore. We just wanted to have a good time regardless of who was there or what people had to say. Quickly I kicked off my heels. There's no way to have a good time, even in the cute $17 wedges you got at Payless. At least our teachers warned us about how horrific it is dancing in heels--so we all tucked socks into our wristlets. And it did look funny to see girls in these beautiful dresses, jumping up and down and tossing their hair all around (me!)...and wearing athletic socks. Some people matched their socks to their dresses. I wore a white dress and white socks that I once used as gym socks.

And then...we danced.

The dance floor wasn't exactly small, nor was it ginormous--but everyone was crowded into the middle, determined to take up the least amount of space possible. And everywhere you looked, there were gorgeous, glittery dresses and guys wearing nice pants, ones that weren't ripped at the knees or covered in grass stains, and button-up shirts. It was like we'd been transported from our regular world, scrubbed down and glitzed up, and planted in this alternate world where all was shiny and clean and beautiful. I hugged so many people. I didn't even know half of them. They probably didn't know me either, but hey. The last hurrah. Hugs all around. Why not?

The dancing made my calves ache. It moved my newly-implemented side part over a good inch back to the middle (except for, oddly enough, one chunk of hair right in the front). It made my throat hurt, but that could have been from all the screaming I did on Kingda Ka the day before. The dancing caused my hair to become wavy again. I danced with people I didn't know. I stuck by my friends. I jumped up and down; my hair was all over the place and I probably hit someone in the face with it too. I think I even discovered that I might possibly have a sense of rhythm, shocker! I found some of my other friends and screamed because I never ever thought I would see Courtney in a dress. And she looked ah-maze-ing!

Every once in a while we would take a break to rehydrate (man, it was H-O-T on the dance floor, sheesh) and check our hair and make sure we still smelled daisy fresh (we did). The DJ played good songs, okay songs, and totally cheesy songs: the Cotton-Eye Joe, the Cha-Cha Slide, the Jump On It song (LOL the one that Carlton on The Fresh Prince always did) and some others too. It was...perfect. Nothing bad happened. No catfights as far as I know. No girls fighting over dates, because honestly no one went with dates. No wardrobe malfunctions, no one passed out, it was allllllllll good. All good. And it was over way too fast. When the parents started showing up at the doors I couldn't help but be extremely dismayed. I was having an awesome time, I didn't want to leave at ALL, and then we had to go. Of course. =[ Well, it was still awesome and I was the last one off the dance floor....unfortunately the music was stopped by then so it didn't matter.

The last hurrah. In four days, I graduate. In five, I'll officially no longer be a member of this school that's been my home for the past three years...I won't even be a part of the school district anymore. Wow, that's depressing. But it was the best dance I've ever been to, not that I've been to many, and I'm going to miss these people when I move on to a new school in a new place with new people. I'm never gonna forget it... Love you all so so so much!

xoxo,

Caiti