On the evening of October 15th, AIS students in brightly-colored dresses walked up the ramp leading to the SLC with mini pumpkins and tiny electric candles surrounding them on either side. Approaching the doorway, they were greeted by a balloon arch made by the Class of 2023’s very own Tess Cosgrave. Fluorescent, color-changing LEDs lit up the inside of our cafeteria—the decorations, courtesy of StudGov, were accompanied by music chosen by the student body. 

Maybe it’s because this was the first school dance I’d attended during my time at Agnes Irwin besides Prom that I really took note of this, but I loved seeing how everyone incorporated their personal style into their outfit for the night. It’s always a sweet surprise to see a side of everyone that we normally don’t. Additionally, in the first year that has felt genuinely post-Covid, upperclassmen are intermingling, bridging the gap between grades that had been continuously widened over the course of the past couple years. Connections with girls from other grades are being forged through outlets besides just sports, and an all-school dance was the perfect event to solidify the re-unification of all four grades. 

Yet why were guests seen leaving early?  We had Dippin’ Dots, a playlist that blew last year’s Prom mix out of the water (seriously, who was on aux?), and friends from every grade. My theory is that when it comes to school dances, the real fun is in the anticipation. The appeal of dances lies in dress shopping, doing your hair and makeup, taking photos, and (admittedly) starting drama over who’s going to which pre and after. Conversations pertaining to Fall Ball and all that it encompassed served as a reprieve from Senior college stress this October, and that Saturday gave us a solid minimum of four hours in which we didn’t have to think about anything pertaining to the application process. At the end of the day, that’s all it really needed to be—something to talk about until the next weekend brought the next event and onslaught of new topics, and an excuse to get dolled up and take adorable photos to fill up everyone’s feed for the next week.