Homecoming is a staple for teens in Texas: the mums, the football game, the outfits, and a date.
While the first three can be easy to get, a date is a bit harder to find.
I have been to homecoming with a friend-date and with a friend group, and I have to say going with a date is way more fun. Due to the fact that I have never dated someone, I decided I would do an experiment in which I would see how long it would take for me to get a homecoming date. I made a poster which stated how I am doing a social experiment to find a homecoming date and then asked them to be my date. On my third try, someone said ‘yes’.
I have always been very insecure about my looks and people liking me in general. No one has ever asked me out or shown interest in me, so I thought that there has to be something wrong with me, right? My friends and therapist would assure me that even if I didn’t notice, the chances are, someone HAS liked me before, but no matter how many times or how sincerely they would say it, I would never believe it. I think I will always struggle with self-esteem, but doing this project has helped me a lot.
I first thought of doing this when me and my friends were at a journalism workshop having lunch. We were discussing a wide range of topics, but eventually we got on the topic of crushes: specifically about whether or not boys show affection in the same way as girls. We consulted the one boy who was there with us, and he made me realize something that should have been obvious but is not to the majority of girls our age. Boys are just as afraid to ask people out as girls are.
With this new realization, I came up with the idea to ask different people to homecoming. I started consulting my friends to find people to ask; we came up with about ten people but I only ended up asking three. The first guy said ‘yes’ and then realized that I actually wanted to do something for homecoming and changed his answer to ‘no’. My ego slightly bruised, I went on to the second person – a friend of mine. He was unfortunately going to be out of town that weekend, so his answer was also a ‘no’. When going into this project I told myself that no one would say ‘yes’ because my self-esteem was on the floor, so when I was going to the third person, I reminded myself of this. Then, to my surprise and delight, he said ‘yes’. Though the date is mutually platonic, it is nice to have reassurance that people at least want to be my friend.
This one seemingly unimportant conversation, gave me an astronomical boost in confidence. From doing this whole social experiment, I have learned that I can’t be afraid anymore – because everyone is. I want you, reader, to take that advice as well. Ask the person out! Apply for the internship! Do whatever it is you’ve been putting off. What is the worst that could happen, you get rejected? Embarrassed? A life without embarrassment, that is a life without taking chances. We have limited time together, don’t waste it.
