Halloween was once a magical holiday for me. The days prior to Halloween were spent going through racks of colorful polyester costumes, searching for the most unique one that my classmates would envy. Behind me would be my poor mother trying her best to keep up with me running down the aisles, gathering every potential costume I saw. Walking into my school in my costume was like walking into a fairytale world. All the students were clad in every kind of costume, and even the teachers dressed up, giving the day a unique aura of excitement. We walked around ColeytownElementary School in a Halloween “parade,” all the little eyes struggling to spot friends in the crowd.
When night came, my neighborhood transformed from familiar and simple to spooky and mysterious. I have vivid memories of being pulled down my street in a red wooden, Radio Flyer wagon, the sun just beginning to set, my itchy bride costume sliding off of my shoulder. Close friends and their parents would come parade through my little neighborhood , and we’d eagerly hit about ten houses before all the little kids got too tired. Being a heavier child, I always felt extremely proud of my candy assortment collected throughout the night.
The day following Halloween at school was a day of chatter about the night before, the spooky stories helping to preserve the mystical feeling everybody had.
Even then, at just four or five years old, Halloween was a night I looked forward to (and something that brightened my post-birthday depression).
It would be an enormous understatement to say I miss the old days.
Trick or treating has been replaced by a Halloween party filled with boisterous teenagers dressed in makeshift costumes. All magic is lost in the stress of finding a house for a party and finding an outfit that looks cute and hints Halloween costume, without scaring anybody away.
I don’t even get candy.
My parents don’t buy it because no trick or treaters have the energy to run up my long driveway.
Depressing, I know.
The day after Halloween night isn’t even fun. Everybody is exhausted from the night before and most likely disappointed with the outcome of his or her costume and/or party. Thankfully, it has become a tradition for seniors to skip the day after Halloween, but my day will probably be spent doing make-up work.
Candy-less.
Halloween doesn’t have to be this unpleasant.
Some students, like Josh Popkin ’14, have more positive attitudes.
Pokin is keeping his costume this year a secret, but everybody can learn a little bit from his Halloween spirit.
“It’s the best holiday. Better than Thanksgiving. Better than Christmas. Better than my birthday. I love it,” Popkin said.
Even Weston is known to go all out for its Halloween festivities. The spirit of their students brings the holiday more excitement than it seems to elicit at Staples.
“A lot of people dress up for school in group costumes and almost everyone goes trick or treating on the night of Halloween. Then, the older kids have a combined party normally. Halloween gets a lot of hype,” WestonHigh School student Bari Blitzer ’14, said.
Lets hope Staples can acquire this enthusiastic attitude, go trick-or-treating and make Halloween what is should be: spooky and fun.
