Alright, so the TIME 100 Gala for 2024 rolled around again. Heard the usual chatter start up a few weeks before, you know how it is. This year felt a bit different though, because my friend Anna actually got an invite. Not as one of the 100, mind you, but she was going as a guest with her boss.
Getting Ready Was Chaos
So, suddenly, I got pulled into the whirlwind. Mostly helping Anna figure out what to wear. We spent hours, I mean hours, scrolling through websites, looking at fancy dresses. Most of them cost more than my rent. It was kind of nuts. We finally landed on something, borrowed, thank goodness. Then it was shoes, hair, makeup… the whole nine yards. Felt like prepping for a military operation, not a party.
- Logged onto way too many fashion sites.
- Made lists, crossed things off, made new lists.
- Had endless phone calls about tiny details.
- Tried to keep Anna calm, which was maybe the hardest part.
Honestly, seeing the prep work up close, it strips away some of the magic. You realize it’s just a ton of effort and stress to look effortless for a few hours.
Watching from the Sidelines
Come the actual night, I wasn’t there, obviously. I was back home, probably eating takeout. But I did keep half an eye on the updates popping up online. Saw the pictures, the short video clips. Lots of familiar faces, everyone smiling those big, bright camera smiles. You see the red carpet shots, the carefully posed groups.
It looked grand, sure. Big names, fancy setting at Lincoln Center, I think? But watching the clips, it felt… predictable? Like watching a movie you’ve seen before. You know the beats. The speeches, the mingling. It’s a performance, really. A very expensive, well-produced performance.
After It All
Anna called me the next day. Said it was overwhelming. Loud. Lots of quick handshakes and trying to hear people over the noise. She got a selfie with someone famous, seemed happy about that. But she also sounded exhausted. Said it wasn’t quite the glamorous dream she’d imagined from afar.
And that kinda summed it up for me too, even just watching from my couch and helping with the dress drama. It’s a huge event, takes tons of planning, tons of money, tons of effort from everyone involved, right down to the person steaming the dress. But at the end of the day, it’s a fleeting thing. A big, flashy moment that comes and goes. Glad I saw the behind-the-scenes stress this time. Makes you see these things a bit differently.
