You’re never too old to dress up for Halloween, so get out there and buy that Batman costume!
I’ve always participated in Halloween, ever since I was really young. I remember seeing photos my mom took of me in a spider costume. Spiders creep me out, but seeing myself as a baby dressed up as one, was somehow really cute.
My family never missed the chance to dress up for Halloween. My sister’s birthday is in late October, and so we always used to have Halloween-themed birthday parties for her. I remember feeling so embarrassed, dressed as a devil, walking through the bowling alley on Oct. 23. Nevertheless, once all the other kids came in their costumes, we’d have a blast.
I don’t think I’ll ever stop dressing up for Halloween. There’s something so fun about dressing up in outrageous costumes with your friends. As kids, we dressed up in our spookiest attire and went trick-or-treating, and made the sidewalks our own personal runways, showing off our costumes to all of our neighbours. Now, we host parties and take pictures to post on Instagram, which doesn’t make the act of dressing up any less fun.
I remember my aunt would have these big Halloween parties. Kids weren’t allowed to attend, so my cousins and I would play Marco Polo on the third floor with the babysitter. Even so, I remember coming downstairs for a snack and seeing all these grown-ups in full costume. One year my dad went as Ozzy Osbourne and my mom went as Madonna. These are the people who raised me, so naturally, they never gave me any idea that Halloween costumes were childish.
I think a lot of people my age won’t dress up for Halloween because they think they’re too old for it, or maybe too cool. But I’m here to tell you: you are never too old to dress up for Halloween.
I’m not the only one who thinks this. Ephraim Inynag, a third-year civil engineering student, said in an interview that no one is ever too old to dress up for Halloween.
As we get older, the potential for costumes only expands. Some years, you might buy your costumes at Party City or Spirit Halloween, other years it’s whatever you can piece together from your closet at a second’s notice. One year, your costume maybe your best finds at the local thrift store, and the next, a carefully curated group costume that manages to be cute, a little bit funny, and arrive just in time for Halloween — a nearly unachievable feat. One day, you won’t be on a student budget — the possibilities are endless.
I think the fun in dressing up can still be found even if you’re not in it for the candy. Last Halloween, I was at home, like most of us were, and spent the holiday with my family. Since we couldn’t go out and buy costumes, we went through our boxes of Halloweens past in our basement and were able to come up with a few looks. My dad dressed up as James Bond. If you knew him, you’d understand. My mom dressed up as a devil. If you knew her, you would also understand.
The point I’m trying to make is that I don’t think Halloween costumes are a childish thing. I just think it changes as we get older. For example, when we were younger, we might’ve dressed up as rockstars, or fire-fighters, or unicorns. For many of us now, our Halloween costumes might look more like how Cady Heron puts it in Mean Girls. It’s true: the hardcore girls do wear lingerie and animal ears — and they have fun doing it.
In the end, it’s still fun to dress up. As we grow older, our costume range does as well. I think it’s really important, with all the stress we have as students, with exams and midterms and bimodule learning, that we take time to celebrate Halloween this year and every year — regardless of how silly or ‘childish’ some may deem it.
