“Trick or treat!” On Oct. 31, this familiar phrase can be heard up and down every street, while children go from door to door gathering their favorite sweets. Kids are eager to show off their costumes and run past their parents, who anxiously trail just a few feet behind them. Everyone cherishes this nostalgic feeling, so why can’t we simply keep it alive?
The Halloween that we have known and loved since childhood is no longer what we experience as teenagers. Trick or treating, the activity that made Halloween so magical, has diminished with our childhood. Memories of sorting candy into piles and negotiating trades for 100 grand bars come flooding back each year, and yet teens pass up the opportunity to spend their night going door to door.
As we grow further and further away from our childhood, people often forget the exhilaration of Halloween because they think they are “too cool”. Teens leave behind the joyful memories Halloween brought to us as children. High schoolers are so anxious to grow up that they end up missing chances to make new core memories.
There is a compromise to be made between the traditional high school experience and trick or treating. High schoolers can spend “halloweekend” as they desire, but should give up a few hours on the actual Halloween night to hold onto their childhood. As we enter college, there will be plenty of nights out in the future. However, there are only a finite number of opportunities to trick or treat along the same street you grew up on.
Photo credit: “A house window celebrating Halloween with a Trick or Treat sign” by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
