By Brianna Rodriguez
Devouring bowls full of candy, sitting in front of a screen watching a horror film and attending parties are what most people think of when Halloween comes around.
Halloween invites people to express their creativity by designing a costume or carving a pumpkin. It is the one day out of the year where you can become whomever or whatever you want.
This is what I’ve always admired about Halloween. Through makeup and design, it gave me the ability to express myself. A combination of creativity and imagination is what people miss about Halloween.
It’s more than just a holiday filled with spooky music and free candy.
As a child, my mother made a point to decorate the house, carve pumpkins and create costumes. At 7 years old Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party became an annual tradition in my family. Each year my brothers and I looked forward to skipping school and piling into the car to go to Disney World.
The thought of dressing up as a cat or a princess for Halloween never interested me. I always aimed to be something straight out of a horror film.
I remember in preschool I wanted to be a murderous doctor, but the school wouldn’t let me. I was so frustrated that I had to settle on being a fairy for Halloween at school. Luckily, I still was able to be a murderous doctor for Halloween when I went Trick-or-Treating.
Maybe I was just a strange child. My favorite doll was a skeleton that started off as a Halloween decoration.
I brought it with me to daycare while the other girls brought their Barbie dolls.
This holiday, much like Christmas, always brought my family close. It gave us an opportunity to do activities together and bond over horror films. If I am not with my family, then I spend the day with friends. It’s a night where I can decompress and partake in something other than homework or a job.
A lot of people dislike Halloween because they don’t like the scary atmosphere. Some may even claim that it is the devil’s holiday, but to me, it has always been special.
Those who dislike the day must have lacked a childhood with the same appreciation for Halloween as mine.
Pictured Above: Brianna Rodriguez, “I remember in preschool I wanted to be a murderous doctor, but the school wouldn’t let me.” Brianna Rodriguez | The Crow’s Nest
