The Prom Series

Throughout 2017 I made a series of posts here regarding the my high school years. The stories centered around the junior prom and the three girls I asked to each of the dances during that period. Some day I might put those stories in a book, but for now, here are the links to those posts collected all in one place:


Series 1: A Prom Story

Past is Prologue

The story actually begins almost two years before the first Junior Prom, when I went to a stake dance and tripped the light fantastic for the first time with Julie. Over the next 18 months there were more dances, and soon I was experiencing feelings of attraction.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/02/a-prom-story-past-is-prologue.html

A Natural Thing

I was now a sophomore in high school, and Julie sat in front of me everyday in one of my classes. These were magical days, when everything was wonderful, and I believed I was falling in love.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/02/a-prom-story-natural-thing.html

"We've Got Tonight"

After finally turning sixteen I asked Julie to the Junior Prom. Julie was radiant that night, and for me it was an enchanted evening.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/02/a-prom-story-weve-got-tonight.html

After the Fall

In the months after the prom I bounced around between hope and despair. I asked Julie out a few times, only to be rebuffed. I would try to forget about her, but then a brief encounter would suggest the possibility that she might still like me.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/03/a-prom-story-after-fall.html


Series 2: Prom Story

New Beginnings

With my love for Julie unrequited, I met a new girl, a sweet angel. But this time I would be more careful, this time I would build a solid friendship before I asked her out. As my junior year began, I had a plan to be more outgoing, and this led to meeting many new friends.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/06/prom-story-new-beginnings.html

The More Things Change

This is the one where I win the award for overthinking. Over the Christmas break I asked Mary to the junior prom, but on New Year's Eve I was strangely flooded with thoughts about Julie.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/06/prom-story-more-things-change.html

She First Said Yes

Mary waited several weeks before finally saying yes, but the next night she called to cancel. My heart was broken, but I accepted her choice. This would lead me to make a major life decision.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/06/prom-story.html

The Winter of My Discontent

In the aftermath of the prom I didn't go to, I had to find a way to deal with my feelings for Julie, and my heartbreak over Mary's decision to cancel our date. I talked with both girls, and in one case we became better friends.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/07/prom-story-winter-of-my-discontent.html


Series 3: Prom

The Third Girl

I had met Evelyn during the fall of my junior year, and by the next spring our friendship had progressed to point where I could have fallen for her. But I had made a decision to wait until after my mission to have a girlfriend. Even so, Evelyn would become one of my best friends.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/07/prom-third-girl.html

It Could Have Been You

Meanwhile, just being friends with Julie proved to be a challenge. This time we were both stirred up, and as winter approached, the storm broke.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/07/prom-it-could-have-been-you.html

"Just For a Moment"

Even as the storm raged, I asked Evelyn to the junior prom. The evening started out well enough, at least until we walked into Symphony Hall, the same venue for the prom two years earlier.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/07/prom-just-for-moment.html

"No Man Is An Island"

While Julie and I debated what a friend was supposed to be, I began to wonder at the very meaning of friendship. At times, I may have expected too much from my friends, but at other times I doubted that I had a right to any expectations at all.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/07/prom-no-man-is-island.html


A Two Part Interlude: The Ball

New Perspectives

Even as I struggled with feelings of loneliness during the winter of my senior year, my perspective began to change. Somehow, things got better.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-ball-new-perspectives.html

Creating Memories

I asked Gabrielle to the Senior Ball, and we both had a wonderful time.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-ball-creating-memories.html


Series 4: After Prom

The Unicorn

The summer after I graduated from high school, Julie's family moved away, and only then did I find peace. Years later someone suggested that Julie had been my unicorn.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/08/after-prom-unicorn.html

Angels

If Julie was my unicorn, Mary was my angel. As it turned out, however, there were other angels in my life.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/08/after-prom-angels.html

Paragon

I had made a mistake in high school when I put my new found friends up on pedestals. Evelyn had become one of my best friends, and her pedestal became the tallest.

http://goodtidingsforus.blogspot.com/2017/09/after-prom-paragon.html