Sarah's Life: Apr 24

One of Texas A&M's older traditions is the Ring Dance. This year marked the 75th annual Ring Dance. Named after the senior aggie rings, this is a dance held for the senior class every year to celebrate the end of their days at Texas A&M and the beginning of their lives as alumni, and includes the ring switching 'ceremony' of sorts, where you turn your aggie ring from facing you while you're in college to facing the world once you've graduated.

... so basically, it's a prom for college students. While I knew several of my friends were making plans to go, it never even entered my mind to think about going. I've never gone to a school dance in my life ... ever. No proms, no homecomings, nothing. Why would this one be any different? There was a few differences, though. I had some really great and really social schools friends, and, being engaged, I had an automatic date (as my friends put it). So, the wednesday before the dance, one of my friends Jennifer found out I wasn't going (I didn't have a class with her that semester, so I didn't get to see her often) and insisted that I come with her group. I told her I didn't have a dress or tickets but she wouldn't take no for an answer - "you already have a guaranteed date, that's the hardest part!" ... how could I deny that? So, casually, I asked Danny if he might be interested in going to a dance that Saturday. His reply? "what do I need to wear?" lol. :)

With that, I had basically less than three days to prep for a prom, all while still finishing homework and projects and going to class and work. But luckily all my friends were more than eager to help me with my plight. The next day, Danny bought us tickets and my friends took me after work shopping at the mall. And luckily, while the selection was meager (the high school's already had their proms, and it was three days before ours), I found a bouncy and frilly teal party dress that was at a decent price and fairly modest too, at least it had straps. While I couldn't find a shrug or cover I liked, I did find some sparkly silver ballet flats - I'll admit, I've always wanted to wear silver shoes (I was hoping for strappy heels, but you make do with the selection with a 48-hr deadline, and besides, the flats were really comfortable). The next day at work, I was telling my story to a co-worker who just happened to have a black bolero from her sister's wedding that, if it fit, she'd be happy to lend me for the night. And, lucky me, it fit perfectly, and looked way better than anything I'd tried on. And luckily too, in all this, Danny already owned a tux from high school show choir, haha. I couldn't have asked for it to have fallen in place any better. Saturday and the night of the dance arrived. That afternoon, my friends had invited me to stop by their place for a hair and make-up session, and it turned out wonderfully. Then, we met up with the boys and our night began.

We went out to eat dinner at Fish Daddy's. It was sooooo crowded, and none of the restaurants here seem to let you make reservations. And, while our group to the dance was already at five couples, a bunch more people came to the dinner just for fun. So, after over an hour wait, we finally got to sit (only because we split into two tables) and eat.

dinner at Fish Daddy's ... yes, Danny actually wore a tux with a bow tie...

After dinner, we stopped at the Alumni Center where they give out the aggie rings and also have a giant aggie ring statue, perfect for photo opportunities (and apparently, others thought the same thing because people already formed a line here too, lol). We took a bunch of group and couple pics (though, Grace and Erin asked some guy friends at the same time, and I never could figure out which guy was which girl's date, haha... whatever, guess it didn't really matter), then off to the dance.

Group Photo with gig'em aggies thumbs up: (guys l-r) Josh, Tommy, Blake, Danny, Ryan (girls l-r) Ashley, Grace, Erin, Sarah, Jennifer

fun group photo! ... guys weren't really paying attention, lol

The Alumni Center also has a second statue of two smaller linked Aggie Rings, so of course, more pictures! ;)

Erin and me - thanks for helping me with my dress and hair!

Normally, the dance is held at the MSC (Memorial Student Center) on campus, but it's under major renovation for the next three years, so they held it at a huge hotel, taking the entire first floor and six ballrooms! The place was simply packed, but with so many rooms, there was plenty of places to go. The theme for the dance was A Timeless Tale, so each room was a famous storybook theme, with plenty of dancing, food, karaoke, and even a fake casino with prizes and such, and everyone was given etched glasses to commemorate the night.