Halloween

Halloween, a day for anyone to dress up and pretend to be a character of some sort. Younger kids love the holiday because they get candy or the whole day at school is a party of some sort. Adults get dressed up for the holiday to encourage the kids to participate or just to feel young again. Whatever the reason, people seem to love to celebrate Halloween.

Personally, I have not liked this day since about 4th grade. I remember being uncomfortable getting in a costume for the day. There was so much pressure to have a great costume and I didn't have a mom or grandma who made my outfits. I usually went to the local retail shop and picked an costume from there but it either never fit correctly or after I got to school, I realized my outfit was ridiculous. Even though the days leading up to this holiday were stressful for me, I conformed and dressed up each year to get a sack full of candy. Which, as it happened, I never really ate all of it. Needless to say, I was very happy the year I was "too old" to go trick or treating.


Than I started working in my career and to my surprise everyone dressed up for Halloween at the company I worked for (Co X). Not only did everyone dress up but they had contest and a parade, just like grade school. All the anxiety I felt when I was younger instantly came back when the topic came up. The accounting dept I worked for had won 1st place the previous 2 years and they were determined to do it again. I didn't want to dress up at all but I also didn't want to be included in the group activity, especially because I was new. To my relief, the department decided to be a 70's basketball team. We went to a sport store on lunch one day and got shiney basket ball shorts, t-shirts, tall white socks and hand bands. Than we all went and bought Afro wigs which made the costumes. We did a skit along with the outfits and came in 1st place that year again. For the next 4 years that I worked at Co X, I participated and dressed up for the holiday.

Work- 70's Basketball team

Along with dressing up for work, came dressing up to go out the Saturday before Halloween to the local events or clubs. I wasn't very excited about this either but I figured I wouldn't be the only one in a costume so why not. Also I still didn't want to be the "wet blanket" of the group either. Yes, peer pressure has a huge effect on me when it comes to group activities. Last year was the first year I really put a lot of thought into a costume. The Variety Club of WNY, throws a Halloween Bash at the Central Terminal. It is a great venue for this type of gathering. All the monies raised goes to the Variety Club which is a great organization. Last year, it was freezing, the terminal did not have heat and the bathrooms were outside (Johnny on the Spots). I was a punk school girl and J was a punk Rocker.

Me, M and J-2006

The bash this year was much better than last year. They had heat, the Johnny on the spots were inside and the set up made the flow of traffic easier to manage. Knowing what to expect this year also let me have a little more fun with my costume. We ordered it online and I got a wig, false eyelashes etc to make the costume complete. I did have to go buy a back up outfit though because the costume didn't come in until last Friday, 24 hrs before the party. I was a little nervous when I put on the costume and realized how short and low-cut the dress was. I am a conservative dresser so this was out of my comfort zone. But once I put on the wig, the eyelashes and makeup, I took on the persona of the costume and surprisingly I loved it. I loved knowing that if someone I worked with saw me, they would not know its me. It was fun being Veronica (yeah we named her) for a few hours.

Halloween 2007

We went to the party with our friends, M and E, J and T. M was a playboy, french maid, E was Hugh Hefner. J and T were pirates. The costumes were great and we had a blast. Here is a link to some other photos taken by people at the bash #1 Halloween Bash Pictures.