I remember hearing about how excited people were for 2020, and that all the holidays fell on the perfect days for each. One holiday, in particular, being Halloween, falling on a Saturday, on a full moon. As we are now more than halfway done with 2020, it is safe to say things will not be going as planned this year. The lack of a “classic” Halloween experience has got me thinking though about my experiences with Halloween, as a college student.
Halloween Past: Transition from High School to College
My high school didn’t have a uniform dress code, so it was always fun to come to school on Halloween and see nearly everyone dressed up, some costumes store-bought, some homemade, students and teachers alike taking part in the fun. Our associated student body even put together a costume contest each year, where winners of different categories could win a huge bucket of candy. I didn’t go trick-or-treating in high school, but it was still enjoyable to dress up in a costume just to take the bus to school.
Costumes were not a part of Halloween that I planned on giving up when I started college. I love putting together costumes from whatever I have lying around with a couple of fun thrifted items thrown in. I assumed that many other students would be like me and dress up for the day. Asking around, I only found a few students who planned on doing the same thing, but knowing that I wasn’t alone, even if there were few of us, motivated me to figure out a costume I could do at school to carry on celebrating Halloween like I did in high school.
In the end, however, it didn’t really matter. Class was cancelled on Halloween, due to the approaching wildfire not too far off campus, and my family members picked me up to spend the weekend back at home. My first college Halloween was also my first real experience with wildfires, and it’s been marked in my brain as a Halloween I won’t forget despite the fact I didn’t really do much to celebrate.
Halloween Present: A Year of Unexpected Events
I think it’s safe to say, as most others have said, that no one had 20/20 vision when it came to 2020. And even then, I’m pretty sure most of us believed that our current circumstances would have been taken care of well before fall, and our holiday season would not be affected. Unfortunately, it looks like this holiday season will be quite different from what we expected.
Having not been able to hang out with friends and dress up last year, I had been planning early on what I wanted to do for Halloween. I wanted to do all the things I thought my freshman Halloween would be. I wanted to dress up for no reason, eat a stupid amount of candy, and watch a dorky Halloween-themed movie with friends, to enjoy a night filled with laughter. In my mind, this year’s Halloween would be something to remember because of the events of last year’s Halloween.
Sitting at home, working on my online class assignments and writing articles in between Zoom calls, I don’t think I will be getting the night I expected on October 31st. So far, I don’t really know what I plan to do. I’ll probably be catching up on homework like always and buy myself some Reese’s Pumpkins as a treat. I won’t be spending the night on campus, and I probably won’t be spending it with friends. I don’t particularly care to dwell on the negatives of the situation, though. If I focus too much on my failed expectations, I won’t be able to have any fun at all.
So, what fun can I still get out of being at home on Halloween again? I can still call my friends and set up a Zoom meeting to see one another’s faces and enjoy a couple of hours of chatting, enjoying sweet things like I would have been if we were spending the night together in person. Being apart from friends for so long has motivated me to reach out more than I did last year, I feel more motivated to connect and make this year special.
My family bought our dog’s first Halloween costume, so we can remember this year with pictures of our 8-year-old dog dressed like an adorable unicorn. I can get my homework done early, and just stay up late for the fun of it, enjoying the light of the full moon. Sure, this isn’t what I had originally wanted my night to look like, but I’m not going to waste a good night just because it wasn’t what I planned.
Halloween Future: Adulthood and Childish Traditions
Another reason I don’t let this year get me down is that I still have two years to make college Halloween memories. It’s not as fun on the surface, to only have two nights’ worth of Halloween fun compared to having four nights but focusing on the loss will only dampen what fun I can have in the future. If nothing goes particularly wrong, we’ll be back on campus by next Halloween, ready to have as much fun as we can.
But Halloween doesn’t magically stop applying to me when I graduate. We all have a ton of Halloween nights left in our lifetimes to experience. There is no rulebook for adults stating that I must stop celebrating Halloween the way I currently do when I turn a certain age. I have hope that I will still have the same friends I currently have –if not more– and that we will still be able to enjoy each others’ company for many years to come.
The future Halloweens we have yet to experience hold so much potential, so I don’t fear missing out on valuable memories this Halloween.