This year, Bellows Free Academy’s junior/senior prom was held at the Burlington waterfront at the Hilton hotel. It was a beautiful turnout. So many people went, the decorations looked great and the dessert bar was exquisite. 

For prom dresses this year, there was definitely a variety of colors, styles and materials. For example, I wore a long lilac dress with a slit covered in sparkles and rhinestones. 

The most popular colors I saw this year were blue and green. Many girls had those two colors but with a variety of styles: tight, mermaid, ballgown and flowy. 

Prom culture has always been about big beautiful and colorful dresses. As a teenager, there aren’t many times you get to dress up and go all out, so prom is a super fun time for everyone in high school. There’s lots of dancing and fun music. 

This year I saw materials I’ve never seen before at prom. There were a few girls that were wearing velvet material dresses, and they looked stunning. There were lots of satin and silks, too. The dresses that were covered in sparkles and sequins were gorgeous, and that is what my dress was too. 

After two and a half years of being stuck in Covid madness, prom was the first real thing we have had. It was so nice to have a big dance and not see anyone wearing masks; it was almost like we are back to normal.