Who knows? I'm not a chick though, and I'm not American either. Maybe it's only a big deal to American girls. I've seen proms on TV and in movies and they act like it's the most important thing ever! All that prom queen crap! Who cares?
Nothing really. Excuse me for being stereotypical but I think it's mainly for the 'popular' kids to show off everything; dresses, tuxes, shoes, jewelry, and/or dance moves. I've went to prom once (at my school Juniors and Seniors both can go.. unless you have a date that's in one of those grades) and I happened to be a freshman so I was excited thinking it was gonna be the bomb, but it wasn't all that. We went to fancy places, there was dancing and food, the after prom was nice, but overall it wasn't anything special.
I didn't go to the eighth grade dance.. So.
Prom. Eh