I Must Be In California: The 15th Annual Father Daughter Ball.

I returned to California the day before classes started, and I did so for one very specific reason: the 15th annual Father Daughter Ball.

You see, 15 years ago, a few ladies decided to plan this ball, held at a local high school. My dad took my sister and I to it. I was four years old at the time. My sister was seven. And now here we are now, nineteen and twenty-two, and we’re still dancing with our dad. The event grew rapidly each year, and it’s now held at a much larger venue. But even with each change along the way, we never missed a dance.

I wish I had some of the photos from years past, but they’re all at home. Looking back, some of our dresses were ridiculous. Some years we even matched. Then when we were in high school, we wore our prom dresses.

A lot of the dads and daughters we used to go to the event with stopped going years ago. I think some of the daughters got “too cool” to dance with their dads. But Liz and I never did. Honestly, our dad is the cool one.

Each year, we thoroughly enjoy our time there. This year was no exception. The night begins with a nice dinner, followed by a few hours of dancing. Normally, it has been our tradition to go to Perkin’s to eat after the dance. Unfortunately, because I still had packing to do and would be waking up at 5 am the next morning, we opted not to do so.

That didn’t stop us from dancing the night away, though. They always play some classic songs like “Walking on Sunshine,” along with some slow ones such as “Butterfly Kisses.” This year, they played “Whip My Hair.” Needless to say, Liz and I did just that. It was so much fun. She and I always dance around like crazy, and my dad follows suit. We can act like complete hooligans, and it doesn’t seem to bother him. Other dads and daughters often look, point, and laugh at us. They’re obviously jealous of our moves.

One of my favorite parts of the night is all of the crazy pictures we take. At the end of the night, I always set up my tripod and use remote to take all kinds of photos of us. My dad goes along with whatever ridiculous idea that Liz and I have for a picture. It’s wonderful. Please enjoy some of my favorites from the night: