All I can say is: I love Halloween! Halloween is by far my favorite holiday. I love the spooky feel and the dressing up. Every year, I make it a tradition to go to a haunted house with my friends. However, as we all know, COVID has really derailed a lot of our plans. Not to fret! This event was perfect in getting me into the spooky vibes of Halloween! The Harry Potter escape room was super fun and what I looked forward to the most (mainly because I reread the entire series during lockdown). The trivia was also really interesting! Who knew American’s spend $2.6 BILLION on Halloween candy?? Insane!

Half of the month of October has come and gone. With prelims wrapping up this past week, I have finally been able to start celebrating one of my favorite holidays: Halloween. Whether you are a fan of haunted houses, creepy tales, the costumes, or looking for an excuse to eat copious amounts of candy, everyone can find something to like about Halloween. This weekend I was able to join a few of my classmates in virtual Halloween games. The games were simple, child-like fun. We did Halloween trivia, a Harry Potter-themed escape room, and made words from Halloween words. While these are not elaborate games meant to exalt this spooky time of year, I loved being a part of the fun because these games were simple. Their simplicity reminded me of when I was a kid and spent all of October immersing myself in spooky thrills. As I have gotten older, Halloween has lost a bit of its child-like wonder, and that’s because I am not a kid anymore. I do not get excited dressing up, I do not eat candy, and I do not like scary stories. How I celebrate Halloween has changed. Instead of dressing up, I put on my Halloween-themed pjs and watch thrillers with my friends. I might not eat candy, but I eat a lot of other treats. And, while I can’t go to a haunted house this Halloween season, I can make my own creepy den out of bedsheets and low-lighting. I may be older, and college may be (well, is) happening, but nothing is going to stop me from getting in the Halloween spirit.

Today I participated in a Haunted Halloween Virtual Game Night with other scholars. Activities included a halloween themed kahoot, harry potter themed escape room, and halloween related word scrambles. Something really surprising I learned while playing the kahoot is that apparently at Cornell on Halloween in 1882, 60-70 students banded together to destroy a bridge?! This was something I had never heard before and was surprised by. The Harry Potter escape room was a fun and well designed room that allowed me to reminisce on my love for Harry Potter. Overall, this game night was a lot of fun and a much needed break from studies. It was nice to meet other Rose residents in a relaxing setting and enjoy spending an hour playing games.