I am not a person who enjoys holidays casually; nothing gets me going like a little festivity. From childhood to adulthood, dressing up on Halloween is for everyone. Why not take at least one night of the year to be something other than yourself?
I typically pride myself on wearing festive gear, engaging in spooky crafts and activities, bumping some “Monster Mash,” and eating pumpkin bread leading up to Oct. 31. Somehow, reflecting upon prior years, I realize that my costume game doesn’t quite match my zeal for the holiday. Here’s a quick review of some of my highs and lows over the years:
Princess(es)
I’m pretty sure for the first four years of my life I was every variation of Disney princess possible. I don’t know if I had yet to gain sentience, but I was definitely not very creative. It’s cute and simple enough for a little kid. Funny enough, there seems to be a phenomenon in which college students revert back to this go-to. I myself fell victim to this, but with some slight nuance. My friends and I were Rapunzel and Tangled characters, which I’d say we executed quite amusingly. I would give my childhood princess plethora about a 5/10, solid enough for its time. The Tangled group was a good 8/10.
Raccoon?
I do not know what possessed my 11-year-old self, but I thought it was cool to be a trash-eating, nocturnal animal. My mom must have let me run wild in the Spirit Halloween to allow me to end up with this undoubtedly overpriced monstrosity. Even worse, I wore this to one of my first Halloween parties. Safe to say, my costume didn’t match the cool 6th grade vibe. Hard 2/10, the only redeeming quality were the striped tights.
Among Us
I am greatly ashamed to say that in 2020 I was an “Among Us” character. Now, I am not talking about those at least somewhat ironically funny inflatable suits. My friends and I tried to make this cute, but it did not translate. We certainly had fun with it at the time, opting to dress with our typical in-game colors and hats. Looking back, it was a little cringe-worthy, landing it with a 5/10.
Zootopia
2021 was my first Halloween with a boyfriend. This unlocked the whole new realm of couple costumes. We decided to be Judy Hops and Nick Wilde. I know this is a pretty typical costume now, but I would like to claim that we were ahead of our time. This was easily identifiable, cheap to put together, and executed flawlessly. I don’t have much to say about this one other than 9/10.
In my 19 years of life, I cannot claim to have worn a perfect 10/10 costume. Maybe this year I’ll do better, but given my track record, probably not.