If you know me, you know that I have a HUGE family. Aside from my four siblings, two brothers and two sisters, I have too many cousins to count. That means holidays. are. absolutely. insane. But hey! I love them more than anything, and would give anything to spend every single one with my family, especially Halloween. These past four years, I haven’t been able to spend this holiday with my family, due to being away at Gonzaga. With home nearly 500 miles away, getting home has never been the easiest, even for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Because I have been absent for Halloween, however, I have come to the realization that I love it most when it is spent with family.
Sure, dressing up with friends is fun and a cool way to try something new on campus, but I miss the excitement that only a kid can have because they get to play dress-up for the day. Being the oldest girl in the family, my sisters always ask me to help them with their hair and makeup, and I get to see their eyes light up when they see the finished product! When we start trick-or-treating, so do the family traditions! My dad always puts bales of hay and blankets in the back of his truck, and my family, the kids and all of the cousins, pile in! Throughout the night, we ride through the neighborhood, collecting candy and laughing the whole way.
May favorite part, however, comes at the end. Once we all get back home, we dump out our bags of candy, and begin the annual “trade-off”. Each of us sort our candies into what we want most and what we want least. We then trade whatever it is we don’t want to try and get the candies we love! This goes on for hours, and can even continue to next day for me and my siblings.
I love Halloween and everything about it. But being in college always makes me feel like I am missing something from it. I can’t wait for when I am reunited with everyone next year!