Historically, the night of senior prom is supposed to be a magical capstone that defines our high school experiences. It’s the night to which we compare all other nights that make up our adolescence. We don’t know what to expect, but that’s part of the excitement. Anything can happen. You’re dressed to the nines, surrounded by your friends in a fancy environment that makes you feel like an adult—and after all, aren’t you an adult? Graduation is only weeks away, and then you enter the real world, whatever that means. This is your last night to define High School You™ and to show your peers how you want to be remembered when you look back on your high school career.

When Heights High School student Miles Steinmeyer walked into his senior prom, he didn’t know what to expect. He was excited. But that excitement, as it always is when Miles takes bold steps into the unknown, was colored by fear. Miles is tall on an average day, but as he strode into prom in a pair of four-inch heels, he towered over his classmates, statuesque. There was no way for Miles to blend in. He didn’t want to blend in.