Halloween is not just 24 hours for me. I have a countdown that starts on my birthday in July and ends, obviously, on Oct. 31. For me Halloween is more than just the end of October; it’s more than just going to a costume party or trick or treating. Halloween, to me, is what I wait for all year. It’s the one day a year that I get to express a side of me that most people would not expect.

As a small child I was scared of anything remotely spooky, I would hide and cry until I felt safe. But now, as an 18-year-old, 5’3”, high school girl I go looking for anything scary. Whether it’s a new horror film or a Creepy Pasta about an old well in a family’s back yard, I can’t seem to get enough. That being said, Halloween is an obvious answer to “What is your favorite holiday?”

Dressing up with my makeup all done up and scaring the color out of people is just an upside to the Halloween season. It’s a day where I get to be with my friends and enjoy all the things that are near and dear to my heart. I love how I make people smile in the halls when they see my costume or after I hand them a piece of candy. Bringing happiness to people at school makes me feel kind of like a Halloween version of Santa.

Each year I go all out. I spend months preparing for that one day at the end of October, and when it finally comes I am happier than a mother of 5 on the first day of school.