Halloween: Becoming Someone Else

As a kid, my family didn't celebrate Halloween. Instead, we would all dress up in our costumes and go to our church for Hallelujah night. Which was fun. We would play games, get candy, etc. And even though I wasn't going trick-or-treating with the other kids, I still looked forward to Halloween. Because it meant I got to wear a costume. For one day, I got to be someone else. And to this day, I still love that feeling. 

I think every person at some point has wished they could be someone else. Have you ever wished you could step out of your own skin and be something else? Something different? Even if it was just for one day? I think you're lying if you say you haven't. There have been many times throughout my life that I wanted to be someone else. When I was going through hard times in high school and just wanted to run away. I tried to be brave and strong, but I never felt like I really was. If I could have stepped out of my own skin and become someone else, someone like Black Widow or even Celaena Sardothien, I would have felt more confident walking into that school every day. 

Or when I would be studying for a crazy hard exam during college. If I could just become someone better for a day, someone smarter, someone who could ace this exam no problem.

And all the times when my heart has been broken. Not just by guys, but by friends and even sometimes family. I wanted to escape, just for a little while. To forget about my life and pretend I was someone else, somewhere else. 

Books gave me that escape. I could immerse myself into a world that wasn't my own. I could pretend that I was friends with the main character or even that I was the main character and I could escape the stresses of my normal life for a few hours. So naturally, because I love this escape, I love Halloween. I love the chance to not just read about my escape, but to become that escape. I don't have to be myself. I don't have to be the nice girl that I am. I can dress up as the Evil Queen if I want and terrorize the town. I can dress up as the strong and sexy Catwoman and strut my stuff down the streets feeling no self-consciousness. Feeling nothing but confident. Feeling... free. 

I think that feeling that Halloween gives you is the same that books can give you. That feeling of utter freedom. The ability to step out of yourself, out of your world and be whoever you want to be. It may not be practical on a normal day in your normal life. (We can't just strut around in catwoman costumes every day, although seriously why not?) But for that one day a year, you can. 

So I say go all out! Get that costume you want. Paint your face with makeup. Wear a mask. Become mysterious. Act completely different from how you normally act. It's your one day to be whatever/whoever you want. Go for it. Rock it. Own it. And on all the other days of the year, when it's not acceptable to wear a costume to work, bring a book to read on your lunch break. The book will help you capture that feeling once again. 

Do you love dressing up for Halloween? Who are you going as this year? I'm rocking two costumes - you guessed it - Catwoman and the Evil Queen.