Prom is a medley of glitter and shine, but the recession forces most teens to cut back on it.

The recession is affecting all aspects of life, especially when it comes to the climaxes of any high schooler’s life – prom. This situation affects even cash-strapped families whose seniors couldn’t gain entry lest they have the means for wardrobe, a few accessories, and tickets. The series of predicaments when parents tell their teens that their money is better spent than their prom nights emulate the story of the Charles Perrault fairy tale Cinderella, if you ask me – just as the stepfamily leaves their impovershed  housemaid and stepdaughter, people who afford to enjoy themselves in their prom finery leave those borderlining on poverty and middle-class behind. Let’s face it – senior year is one of the costliest years of our pre-college lives, and prom just adds insult to financial injury, especially with an ill economy we all have to muddle through.

So where are the middle-class teenagers’ fairy godmothers when they need them?

Although fairy godmothers are nonexistent in reality, consignment stores across the country are offering prom dresses for as less as a mere $10. In my region of Tampa Bay, for example, the thrift store Charlie’s Treasures offers them, with the most expensive one just $15. Other organizations offer free giveaways, like New York-based Operation Pixie Dust, to promising prom attendees-to-be on a frugal budget. I happened to attend prom last year, when the economy began to take a dive. My dress happened to originate from a thrift store, and my mother did the hair (which was short, thank you) and makeup. Also, I used what I had for shoes and jewelry and that was that. Prom took place at a hotel near my high school, and I’ll never forget that day.

Prom, despite the recession, is less likely to be canned this year, not like what the Catholic Marianist pariochial school Kellenberg Memorial High did in the spring of 2006 due to greed and excessive consumerism. Quite a few high schools decide to hold theirs in their own gymnasiums, but many went as far as renting catering halls. My former school, Thomas Jeferson Senior High, is to hold its prom at the Doubletree in Westshore, across the street off-campus. Also, teens trade limos for carpool gigs – even promgoers from Massachusetts rented a school bus for just $50! Oh, and after-parties still persist, despite their decreases. (I didn’t have one after prom, mind you.)

We know that the current economic crisis is keeping teenagers who are seniors from going to prom, but why should they miss out? After all, it’s the most posh time of their year.