Halloween is an interesting holiday. It’s the only one that marks the releases of every other horror movie of the year. It’s the only one that stocks our local CVS shelves with rows and rows of chocolate and other sugary treats. Free candy is certainly a huge incentive for this holiday to be at the top of my list. Sure, we get stuff on Christmas too, but Santa won’t give you anything if you’re dressed like a slutty elf. Dressing up is my favorite part of Halloween. When I was younger, I would start planning my costume a month before the day itself. Sadly, with time, I feel like we’ve been pressured to become detached from this holiday, and no longer are we embracing the true meaning of Halloween – an opportunity to dress like a fool and get away with it.

Do you still remember the costume contests we had when we were little? I don’t think I’ll ever forget spending hours making my costume the night before. One year, my parents and I struggled late into the evening with a tangled mess of Elmer’s glue, twine and green construction paper. The next day, the other students and I would eagerly move into the cafeteria, where we could make jack-o-lanterns, fuzzy black cats, and other fun little things. But the best part was always getting up on stage and showing off the fruits of our labor. As our teacher went down the line, each student would proudly shout out what they were. I would say: “POISON IVY!” and my squeaky voice would echo throughout the room. I don’t think I ever won the costume contest. There was always THAT kid with some extravagant costume that he probably hired someone to make for him (how was I supposed to beat a haunted house?). We would spend the rest of the day comparing our home-made costumes and mocking kids who bought theirs from the store. Hey, we were cruel little things when we didn’t know any better. At the end of that day, I would haphazardly rip off my costume and anticipate coming up with a new idea in 364 days.

As I got older, I eventually realized with a heavy heart that it’s awkward asking for candy standing next to kids who are half your height. That first year I stayed home was when I started really getting into my Halloween decorations. I was that one neighbor who had an unnecessarily complicated contraption that could “eat” your hand when you got close to it. I always got a kick out of hearing little kids screaming with delight outside of our front door. This happened every year for six years. I would honestly put up the same decorations and kids kept falling for it year after year. Maybe they were just trying to keep me amused. Anyway, when I heard the doorbell ring, I would grab the huge bag of chocolates that my mom prepared. We never gave out any apples or cans of soda or Toostie Rolls (why were there so many of those?? I remember being super disappointed when I dumped everything out at the end of a particularly fruitful night and saw that half my candy was Toostie Rolls). I would open the door with a different costume every year, wait for a cheerful “trick-or-treat,” and try to guess who everybody was. As the kids finished getting their candy, I would wave them off with a cheery: “See you next year!”

Coming to Penn, Halloween has certainly changed. Instead of bowls of chocolate, we pass around shots of tequila. Instead of poison ivy and haunted houses, guys put on a football jersey and girls put on nothing. Suddenly, a holiday that used to have such deep meaning for me has faded just a tad. I’m not saying that we should start knocking on the doors of neighborhood homes in West Philadelphia. Although if you did, the bright side is that you’d probably appear on the front page of tomorrow’s DP. All I’m saying is – at least think a little bit about your costume before you go out this year. My freshman year, I wrapped a brown sheet around myself and went out as Gandhi. Last year, I put on some pearls, streamers, and ornaments; I was a Christmas tree. These costumes don’t take up much time. The most creative ones usually don’t take up any time (or money). This year, I’m super excited for Halloween. This is the first year that I’ve found a group of friends who are just as passionate about dressing up as I am, so we’re doing a group costume. If you haven’t thought of a costume, you should think fast. Here are a few good ones that we passed up: Jamaican bobsled team, hosts of the The View, and Where’s Waldo with impersonators (one person is Waldo and all other people are dressed like him, but have something off about them).

So, in short – use this time to be creative. There’s no other time of the year when you can dress like a superhero, a type of vegetable, or your favorite president. Embrace Halloween for what it used to be when we all vied to win that “best costume contest.” This is a time for us to go crazy with our ideas. To be whoever (or whatever) we dream to be.