Palms are sweaty. Stomach is doing flip-flops. Heart is pounding.
Must be time to ask that date of your dreams to the school dance -- but are you a guy asking a girl, or a girl asking a guy?
Traditionally, boys are the ones who ask the girl out, plan the activity and pay for the date. But when it comes to school dances, girls can get in on the action too. For most high schools, half of the dances are boys' choice and the other half are girls' choice.
So which type of dance is more fun? When it comes to a school dance, who likes to wear the pants?
"I think that there should just be an even amount of boys' and girls' choice dances because then the guys don't always have to worry about paying for it all the time, and everyone gets a chance to ask who they want," says Mandy Sterrett, a junior at Ogden High.
However, Zach Heslop, a Layton High junior, says, "There should be more boys' choice because the reason why girls' choice is so fun is because they are not as frequent."
McCall Eldredge, a recent graduate of Northridge High, says, "I would say girls' choice were better because I liked planning and having awesome day activities, but the formal boys' choice dances were also fun!"
"It depends on the dance," says Kara Huber, a junior at Layton High. "If it's formal, boys' choice is better because they pay. If it is not formal, girls' choice is more fun because I get to choose the activity."
Creative questions
When preparing for dances, teens have lots to figure out -- everything from what to wear to where to eat dinner. For a lot of teens, just trying to come up with a good, creative way to ask a person to the dance seems to be a problem.
"Asking is always the hardest part!" said Taylor Wood, a Bonneville High junior. "You never know for sure if they will want to go. It stresses me out sometimes."
The asking process can be very involved; it's common for teens to ask anonymously in the form of a puzzle, poster or treat. Then, the answer back can be just as involved. This process is fun, but as many of us know, there can be problems along the way.
Mitchell Stevens, a junior at Bonneville High, is one teen who had some difficulties asking someone to a dance.
"One time I left some stuff on a girl's porch after she and her family had gone to bed," he said. "She did not even know she had been asked for a day and a half. Then her mom finally found it on the porch."
Typically, girls seem to be the ones who put more thought and energy into planning events. This can pay off and make for an enjoyable date, or it can backfire and cause high levels of stress.
For this reason, Sterrett says she likes boys' choice better: "I like that the girls don't have to pay and don't really have to worry about anything because it is all up to the boys."
Jacob Barton, a senior at Ogden High, also prefers boys' choice.
"I like boys' choice because you don't have to worry about getting asked, and it is fun to plan it all and see how the girl reacts to it," he says.
You go, girls!
On the other hand, some teens prefer girls' choice dances.
Kyler Wright, an Ogden High junior, says girls' choice dances usually get a better turnout.
"Girls ask more than guys do and so there are more people at the dance and that makes it more fun. And I don't have to pay for it!" says Wright, who believes, "What makes a dance fun depends on who you go with."
Kendra Goff, a senior at Ogden High, added, "There's a better turnout at girl's choice dances because girls like to go to dances a little bit more than boys do."
Some teens are more in the middle.
"It doesn't make a difference who asks. Dances are fun either way!" says Nate Hulet, a junior at Layton High.
Lauren Merrill, a Bonneville High junior, says, "I just like dances because I get to know my date a lot better, and I can meet a lot of people that are in my group that I wouldn't usually hang out with."
"Both 'choice' dances are pretty fun, just being with people is fun," Barton says.
Whether it's guys or it's girls who are doing the asking to dances, remember those words to a popular song may apply -- "If you've got the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you'll dance!"
TX. correspondents Alexandra Burton, Ogden High, and Michelle Thurgood, Syracuse High, contributed to this story.
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Mackenzie Stevens is a junior at Bonneville High School. She loves playing volleyball and chillaxing with friends. E-mail her at stevensma1@wsdmail.net.
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