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27 LAKE NORMAN CURRENTS
aren’t even dressed up. That’s just not right.” Then, after senior Sam Mock explains the awkward feeling that comes with having to say “trick or treat” while shuttling a younger brother house to house, I can’t help but smile when his classmate, Liam Ahearn, also a senior, paints a picture of how it feels to be 6’1” and trick-ortreat alongside others who come up to his knee caps. I feel like he’s almost relieved that basketball tryouts have given him a reason to avoid the awkwardness these last couple years. Reflecting on our conversations, I begin to see that as desperately as I’m trying to label high schoolers as lazy, late, and disrespectful, I really shouldn’t. I need to remember that high schoolers are unique and complex individuals who are just trying to be the best representatives of themselves, even at Halloween. And as a giver of candy, I should respect that when there are those who are so passionate about a costume and a holiday evening that they are willing to rip off a mask to reveal their soul, and there are those who awkwardly trick-or-treat out of sibling duty, and there are even those who might want to trick-ortreat but stand out, or come late due to extracurricular responsibilities, that Halloween can and should be enjoyed by everyone regardless of age. And, oh, before I forget to mention it, remember those peanut butter cups I was saving and craving as the end of last year’s Halloween was interrupted by the late-night doorbell ringing of some older teens? I not only gave them the benefit of the doubt, I also shared my candy with them, too.
OCTOBER 2019
because they are too old, lack costumes, and have little respect for arriving so late. Yes, this scenario happened last year, so to better prepare for the possibility of it happening again, and also to help educate those candygivers reading this article who might find themselves in similar situations, I decided to get a get a better understanding of the minds of high schoolers at Halloween by going directly to the source. For the sake of Halloween happiness, I sit down with a group of students armed with a list of questions and a voice recorder, pen and pad in hand, too. I think to myself, surely a group of high schoolers can explain teenage Halloween behavior. Lauren Whitley, a junior, begins by sharing the story of how one year she and her brother decided to dress up as ninjas and details how a homeowner scars the otherwise awesome experience. Lauren, a true Halloween lover, remembers, “We walk to the door and he says, ‘isn’t it great to see brothers going out trick-ortreating together’ and I start fuming and rip off my mask to let him see I’m a girl.” Lauren then tells me that while experiences like that can be tough, they haven’t soured her love of trick-or-treating and adds that the whole Halloween experience can be an emotionally fantastic endeavor no matter how old you are. Sophomore Hope Mullins stopped trick-or-treating at age five because Halloween really “freaked me out” but decided to give it another shot last year. “We went to a few houses and I’ll tell you I what,” Hope recalls, “I was totally annoyed to see the teenagers not even dressed up.” From Hope, I learn, “you can’t expect to get candy if you