Halloween is one of the most joyous days of the year, but especially for kids. Endless amounts of candy, parties thrown during the day at school and wearing the coolest costumes are just some aspects that make this holiday so special in your younger years.
As we get older, our views towards Halloween and perhaps our appreciation towards it changes. We attend haunted houses and trails, watch scary movies and attend parties at night instead of trick-or-treating. There’s nothing wrong with the way we celebrate this holiday as we grow out of childhood, but it’s sweet to reminisce about those simple pleasures.
I asked some Fairfield University students to look back at their favorite Halloween costumes growing up and the memories they have associated with them.
Family tradition was important in the Kilmartin household growing up, one specific costume being shared amongst all the siblings. “There was a lion costume that everyone in my family wore at some point,” Ellie Kilmartin ‘24 tells me. She also notes that she and her mother dressed up together one year, which was special to her. “We were 70s go-go dancers.”
Kilmartin says that her most iconic costume, however, is Sharpay Evans from “High School Musical”. Or perhaps when she was a bee, in which she says, “my mom says I would wear the costume everywhere.”
Senior Emma Jardin also has some familial memories associated with Halloween. “When I was two-years-old, my parents and I were clowns all together,” she claims, but unfortunately did not show me a picture.
Jardin also discussed the more obscure costumes that became more popular as we entered our middle-school years. “One time, my friends and I were nerds,” she says, “and another time, we were all different colored crayons.” I found this amusing considering that I was a green crayon in the fifth grade, which is a reminder that there are very few individual experiences.
Other students shared hilarious photos with me to show off their sillier costumes. Nicole Dorsey ‘24 was wearing a black dress, black leggings, black boots, a black jacket and black lipstick in this specific photo of her younger self. When asked to describe what exactly she was, she responded, “probably a goth girl.”
Senior Ava Alicea showed me an adorable picture of her as a baby dressed completely in red with red shoes to match, and a giant apple costume thrown over her, even covering her head with a stem sticking out of it. This reminded me of all the silly costumes parents have put their children in for decades and how much fun they probably have with that power.
My personal favorite costume growing up was a Snow White dress that I believe was worn for multiple years in a row. At least I was cost-efficient!
Although we should look forward to all the Halloween celebrations that are coming up within the next few weeks, it’s fun to look back and remember how mystical the holiday was during our childhoods.
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