Is it just me or do middle schoolers not have awkward phases anymore? Is that why kids now a days can never handle anything? Because if you ask me, awkward phases are extremely important to character building, I mean look at me, 23 and my awkward years still haven’t ended. Anyways, I’m quite sure middle school dances (if they still have them) now a days are nothing like they use to be. I wonder if the cool~ kids even go to them now? Cause back in my day, they were considered the event of the month. So let’s take a little trip down memory lane and relive those awkwardly amazing middle school dance days.
10. “Can We Get Ready and Take Pics At Your House?”
To start off the usual Friday night “social” or as the edgier middle schools would call it, the “dance,” you would need a rockin’ place to get ready at. This usually meant deciding which friend’s house would allow a bunch of preteen girls over to make a mess in order to impress~. I say make a mess because it usually consisted of every girl taking their entire bedroom over to the other’s house in order to properly beautify so that one eighth grader would finally notice them.
9. Pizza
Pizza at the actual dance usually tended to be expensive, plus are you even going to risk getting a stain on your new top from Limited Too?? I don’t think so. In order to avoid the world’s biggest tragedy you usually ended up ordering a pizza before the dance (so you could snack while you straightened your hair). That’s how we middle schoolers ‘pregamed’ back in the day.
8. You Straightened or Curled Your Hair
Have to get those side bangs just right to showcase your eyeliner properly. Know what I mean? Whoever’s room you ended up getting ready in probably smelled like burnt hair by the time your crew was finishing up. There was two sides, the ones who were known for their ‘perfect’ hair straightening or curling skills, and those who were begging the others to do their hair. Odds are you straightened your hair for school almost every day at this point in time, but your hair had to be PIN STRAIGHT for the dance or curled to make everyone wonder, ‘who’s that girl??’.
7. You Either Had A Jean Skirt or Skinny Jeans & Uggs
Not only did your outfit have to be completely on point, it usually had to be all new too, cause god-forbid you end up as an outfit repeater to a middle school dance. Most girls either had jean skirts that weren’t allowed during actual school hours because they were probably considered “too short” (finger tip rule ladies), or skinny jeans that you probably couldn’t actually breathe in (can’t have the ends bunching up around your Uggs, duh).
6. Lots of Selfies & Pictures
Oh my gosh you have friends??? I couldn’t tell from the millions of pictures you took before the dance or the Facebook album you captioned Fr1eNdz. On top of that the Picniking or Photo editing in general was REAL. None of that body altering stuff kids unfortunately do now a days, I’m talking the pink pixelated backgrounds with the black and white faces surrounding your way too saturated eyes. You were considered a goddess if you had the ‘best; picniking skills. As for now a days? I have some questions.
5. The Sweat
So you’ve made it to the dance ~fashionable (fifteen minutes) late because of course no one arrives on time. If your school was like mine, the dance was held in the Cafeteria and you were usually met with a wave of heat as soon as you hit the dance floor. Too many kids crammed into one area with a lack of ventilation usually created a sweaty, smelly disaster that our young minds craved. Some kids usually hadn’t discovered deodorant at that point in time either. Wasn’t always a fun time. But you totally looked cool if you decided to take a breather for some fresh air (with your now frizzy hair) on one of the cafeteria tables pushed up against the wall.
4. Dancing Equaled Jumping or Trying To ~Show Off
Let me tell you, the amount of calories we probably burned in these dances must have been unreal. Between constantly jumping up and down while you’re sweating your butt off, no wonder why we consumed so much pizza. I don’t really know who decided that just jumping up and down to the music counted as dancing, but I hate whoever they were cause I would DIEEE. One song down and I was already done for the night. Then there was the girls who thought they were IT for knowing the entire Soulja Boy dance, which they of course just had to perform in front of everyone when it came on.
3. Teacher Chaperones
Nothing was probably more awkward than running into your history teacher while you thought you were dressed to the nines. Or even better, when they told you you were ‘too close’ to your slow dancing partner. I can only imagine what goes through any teacher chaperones’s heads. Especially now at the age I am, knowing that some teachers are my age, I can only imagine how awkward or hilarious they must find the middle school dances now. Then again, middle school dances are probably nothing like they use to be.
2. The Playlist
If your dance had Soulja Boy, Flo Rida’s Low, or Lil Jon’s Get Low playing, then it was automatically a rockin’ time. As soon as one of those beats came on you knew the dance floor was about to get lit. Or you would have that one DJ who refused to play any of the ‘new’ songs until they were requested at least 20 times. I would still bop to those songs now if they came on. I know every word fret not.
1. Slow Dancing
Okay guys, we did it, we reached the end of the night, which means it’s time for that moment most of you and your friends have been waiting for: the Slow Song. Now usually they would play at least three slow songs throughout the night, but the last one was always the most important because it basically mean’t your last chance at destiny. It mean’t your last chance of asking that one boy to dance or in typical middle school fashion, have your friend go ask him for you while you look longing into the distance completely ~unaware of the situation at hand. Or it meant the usual middle school drama of constant heartbreak. Did you just see that boy you’ve been crushing on but have never spoken too dancing with that girl he knows? Night RUINED. It’s happened to all of us don’t lie. Anyways, the last song was usually a make it or break it for how the entire night would be remembered.
Toria's Tales 