You’ve probably been judging everyone’s Halloween costume via Instagram or Facebook and wondering how in the world it is already November.
The infamous holiday has come and gone (hopefully the hangover has too) but what was all the hype for? We dress up, we get drunk and then it’s on to the next holiday like it never even happened. Halloween has feelings too, okay?
As children, our Hallows Eve evolved a little each year and now, as a college student, all I want is to go back to the beginning of the evolution and practice the same traditions that have been engraved in my memory.
The Young Days
The times when Halloween was a chance for your parents to dress you up as a cute little pumpkin and socialize with their friends while carting you around the neighborhood to get a little candy and be in bed by 9 p.m. You weren’t allowed to eat all of it at once because your parents wouldn’t let you be the savage little seven-year-old that the sugar would turn you into.
The Awkward Days
Graduating from the baby pumpkin bucket to a pillow sack as a candy holding device and trying to fill the sack as full as possible was the ultimate goal. You carved pumpkins, your parents low-key followed you around the neighborhood because they didn’t want you to trick-or-treat alone and you ate all the candy you desired because you were a rebel who disobeyed your parents and were too old to be told how to control your candy intake. Braces were also involved in this whole experience. Sticky caramel and brackets are never a good combination.
The Ungrateful Days
All your parents wanted from you was to carve a pumpkin but you couldn’t find time in your busy high school schedule to fulfill their one request. There were soft-core slutty costumes, weird parties where no one could hold their liquor and the age-old debate continued if you were too old to trick-or-treat but still wanted the dank-dank candy you knew Mrs. Jones gave out. (We all know about that king-sized candy bar life.)
The Nostalgia Days
Maybe you bought yourself Halloween candy or prayed to sweet baby Jesus that your mom would send you a Halloween care package because that woman knows the inner workings of your soul. The days of trick-or-treating have passed and long since been replaced with shots and overly sweet alcoholic beverages. You probably woke up after a party with blood shot eyes wondering why your fake eye lashes were now on your leg, why there was a vampire in your bed or why there was a trash can by your bed that contained a mixture of Halloween punch, glitter and possibly that Chipotle bowl you ate yesterday in it. We all wish that we could take a pillow sack, fill it with as much candy as possible and run through our neighborhoods dressed as anyone but ourselves. We all wish to have no worries in the world besides what face we are going to carve on our pumpkin. Ah, simple times.
Why was it that when we are salty middle schoolers we couldn’t understand the importance of cherishing our chance to collect candy from strangers? Or in high school you let this wonderful holiday slip by without ever realizing it? All I’m saying is the traditions we practice stick with us forever and appreciating them is a part of the beauty.
There’s no shame in carving pumpkins, asking your neighbor for some candy or dressing up with no intentions of looking like a slutty cat. It will probably make your parents happier than you can imagine to know those things you did as a child have stayed with you into your collegiate years and hopefully beyond.
Next year, take the time to relive those childhood traditions and savor Halloween while it’s still there.
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