Senior Ball has just ended for Cal High. The wild dancing and loud singing last Saturday night was all fun and games until some girls got home and realized they had just spent nearly $500 for one three-hour long night. 

Simply put, some girls have to put in far more effort, and money, when it comes to dances.

Between all the purchases ranging from the hair, the makeup, the dresses, the spray tans, and the manicures and pedicures, getting ready is no joke, and makes a huge impression on someone’s credit card bill. 

Arguably, the best part about ball for the majority of girls was getting ready. But would parents agree? Moms loved watching their daughters get ready, take pictures, and leave in the hands of a handsome ball date. But what did moms do when they got home besides posting photos all over Facebook, editing pictures, and showing off how good their kids looked? 

They took it all in and realized how they had just spent $250 on their daughter’s dress, $75 on their makeup, $50 for their nails, $120 on their hair and $20 on a decent spray tan. Then they said to themselves “Man, did I really just do that?” 

Girls have spent more money than boys ever will for a three-hour dance. Yes, renting a tuxedo comes at a high price, but isn’t that all they purchased? 

On ball day, boys woke up at noon, ate, and played video games. Then once their moms reminded them of ball they quickly rushed to (hopefully) shower, comb their hair, shave, and get dressed. 

On Saturday, a girl’s get-ready is not that simple. In fact, it takes more than just one day to get ready. They bought a dress two months in advance, made an appointment to get the dress altered three weeks before the dance, got a spray tan, and had their nails done a week before. All of these commitments are done before the Saturday of the dance.

On the day of ball, girls couldn’t even wake up at noon. At 8 a.m. they woke up to eat breakfast, shower, then immediately left to get their hair and makeup done. And no, it didn’t take one hour for each event. The time for hair and makeup ranges greatly, but it definitely is a time-consuming task.

Finally, when everything was good to go, everyone left to go to pictures with their date or friends. All of the girls admired how everybody around them had cleaned up and couldn’t help but think, “I just spent all that money to look like THIS in my pictures?” 

After ball took place, the talk with parents was not fun. “How was it?” “What did you do?” The best one yet from mom was, “Next dance you go to in college, you’re borrowing dresses. I am not buying you another expensive dress for anything. Love you!”