Disclaimer: Although I’m obsessed with the month of October, Halloween is one of my least favorite holidays. Maybe it’s because it means that this beautiful month is officially coming to an end (I think I just shed a tear admitting that to myself in writing) or it could be because I lack some serious creativity and artistic ability which results in all of my costume ideas/ attempts of costume ideas being complete crap. Either way, October 31st just isn’t my favorite day. Sue me.
Does that mean that I didn’t dress up as a child? No. Did that stop my parents from embarrassing me year after year with cute costumes that only adults found adorable? Absolutely not. Do I hate them for it? Ehhhhhh. Kidding–of course not! I’m just eternally traumatized and still in therapy for it. But no big deal. Here’s a peak at a few of my favorite costumes as kid. I hope you get some enjoyment out of them; if not, the mortification was 100% not worth it.
For the last month (and the last three at Costco), everyone’s been prepping for Halloween. Those creepy Spirit stores have opened in just about every abandoned warehouse and bankrupt store in this country (please excuse my political science commentary, but–given the recent economy–they’re quite bountiful), and Diddams and Party City have been selling overpriced, too-small pieces of cloth sewn together that they consider ‘costumes.’ Being the product of a Catholic school education for 13 long years, I render this horrendous. But (as always), you do you. No judgement here.
After giving far too much thought to the (very odd) tradition of dressing up for Halloween (mostly thinking of why I should actually dress up to procrastinate thinking of what to dress up as), I decided it’s absolutely silly. Everyone makes a huge deal about putting on a costume and pretending to be something that they aren’t. But isn’t that what we do on a day to day basis, anyway? We are constantly trying to change ourselves; we’re never enough of anything–pretty, smart, popular, thin, successful–for us to love and appreciate ourselves, just as we are. I’ve yet to meet one person who’s in love with every part of themselves. And our society’s view of self-love is so skewed that I guarantee you if I did meet someone who was, I’d probably think that they were narcissistic and incredibly annoying.
We have an obsession with wanting to be who we aren’t and having everything that we don’t. Halloween is simply a day when it’s socially acceptable for us to forwardly show that. And no, you obviously don’t want to be a Elsa or the Grim Reaper in real life (and God forbid a slutty referee or a half-naked Cesar in a toga–let’s readjust our life goals here), but we also don’t want to be ourselves. And if you ask me (which you obviously didn’t, but you’re about to get my two cents anyways), it’s so so sad.
We’re all incredibly unique and different. We should want to be ourselves! There’s not one person in this world that is exactly like you in every way. Not one. Not even your twin, all you identical babies out there. You’re the definition of original. So work it, rock it, own it. Be you because you’re pretty damn awesome.
Be safe tonight and eat so much candy that your parents would hesitate to claim you as their child.
Keep doing you.
Oh, and Happy Halloween (I’m not that bitter, I promise) 😉
-Megan
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