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The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Cute trumps comfort through the years for Halloween

Published 2012-11-04T12:45:00Z”/>

opinion

Carly Caumiant

When I was 7, my mom forced me into an oversized mouse costume. It was a round caboose with puffy arms and a hooded jacket with ears that enveloped my tiny frame. I cursed my mother as I shuffled from door to door in my ill-fitting costume.

I have to admit, though, I looked pretty darn cute.

Fifteen years later, few things have changed for most of us. We mold this childhood holiday to better fit into our adult worlds. The idea that cute dominates comfort has followed us into adulthood.

When I see women my age dressed in costumes they can’t seem to walk in, I think of my 7-year-old self. Her childhood is bursting out in a very adult way, and I ask myself, why would they purposefully do this to themselves?

Plus, they are usually freezing their own adult cabooses off in order to sex-up their version of Minnie Mouse.

Halloween is not a holiday I would expect adults to celebrate, but in fact, it only gets better with age.

As an adult, I can experience so much more of the holiday than just gathering big pillowcases full of candy. Let’s face it. Candy is just the beginning.

Corn mazes, handpicked pumpkins and all the smells of the fall season are so much richer through an older, wiser perspective.

We get more creative with costume ideas, treats and outings. Instead of scurrying home by 9 p.m. from an evening of door-to-door treat collecting, we can stay out and celebrate as long as we wish.

Halloween is a prominent holiday in Chico. Not only is it an excuse to party our little hearts out, but it’s also a time for us to jump into costume for an entire weekend and leave our mundane everyday attire hanging in our closets.

We trick or treat ourselves to a little excess booze for the night, weekend, week or however long we decide to celebrate.

And although our choice of dress has definitely shifted, they’re still costumes. We still push ourselves to a world of fantasy in the spirit of All Hallow’s Eve.

Despite Halloween’s origins in celebrating demons and the dead, it has been socially constructed into a holiday full of fun and treats. And as adults in a college town, we have appropriated this holiday as our own time to booze it up and get sexy.

Because honestly, there seems to be no restriction on how little clothing we can wear and how much booze we can drink.

I, however, plan on staying warm this Halloween, and not through an excess of alcohol consumption.

Whether I decide to flirt with my youth as a plumped mouse or keep it simple with my go-to Indian costume, you better believe I’ll be rocking a warm jacket to keep it practical.

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<strong>Carly Caumiant can be reached at</strong> <a href=”mailto:[email protected]”><em>[email protected]</em></a>

  1. Halloween
  2. Carly Caumiant
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