A beautiful contribution

By Kyra-lin Hom

9 a.m. wake up; 9:30 skip breakfast; 10:30 hair; 3 p.m. nails; 4 p.m. make up; 6 p.m. dress and jewelry; 7 p.m. showtime - or is it supposed to be nails, hair, dress, then make up? - or maybe make up comes before hair? Ooohhh, I just can never get it right! Is this sounding familiar to anyone?

Most schools have already had their prom - the date coming earlier and earlier than tradition dictates. And though I have yet to go this year, I have heard the gossip, stared bug-eyed at the agendas and seen the pictures. It is incredible that one dance - one night - can take an entire day's primping and fretting. What is it about prom that leads high school students to spend hundreds of dollars on dresses, limousines, dinner, the list goes on and on?

For most, the single, simple answer is, "It's prom." The experience, when dissected, is not entirely singular nor are the dances always toe-tappingly invigorating. It is the event itself, one could say the aura of prom, that draws the dollars. It is one event that enraptures nearly everyone at some point in their lives. For seniors, it is the celebration of the end to not just high school but to the 12-year required regimen. For everyone else lucky enough to tag along, it is an excuse to go all out: girls get to be princesses and boys get to be princes.

I can appreciate a good pair of lazy-day sweats just as much as the next person, but, for at least a few days out of the year, I want to shine and pretend to be a beautiful damsel from the days before sagging jeans and commercial logos.

Yet no one usually thinks that hard about prom and those not able to be that princess or that prince - for whatever reason, but one girl did. Marisa West from Beltsville had the generosity and the kindness to consider those high school girls victimized by hurricane Katrina. In her attempt to gather maybe 100 used prom dresses for those girls, she collected 2,800 dresses and then shoes, jewelry, and handbags - enough to supply nine New Orleans high schools.

Thirty-five percent of the girls in those high schools had lost everything. Those that hadn't were, understandably, unwilling to ask their parents for the money and/or did not have the money themselves.

While the massive, overwhelmingly pervading events can leave a person numb and able to deal by distancing themselves, it is the little things that can strike at the heart and bring tears to otherwise stoic eyes. West realized that prom is essential to the high school experience. Her efforts allowed these girls one small bit of normalacy in chaotic and uncertain times, allowing them to be happy, ordinary teenage girls for that one incredibly special and memorable night. Those girls will probably remember West's gift for the rest of their lives.

So I just wanted to take the time, the words, and the space to commemorate and honor West for her beautiful and influential contribution. It was an idea that started out small and took off running. Don't ever let anyone tell you that one person can't make a difference. You don't have to change the world to change a life.

Kyra-lin Hom can be reached at kl_hom@yahoo.com