It’s that time of year again! Time to whip together the sexiest cat costume (sexiest dog costume for the boys out there) you can think of, and start texting your friends, because Halloween is coming

To a lot of high school kids, Halloween is seen as a mandatory time to go out and party. After all, that’s what they did in “Mean Girls,” and nobody wants to go and Lindsay Lohan it up by wearing an ugly bride of Frankenstein costume.

Unless you’re a Wiccan or Pagan, Halloween isn’t an official religious holiday. However, for most kids, it was (and is) one of the holiest holidays out there.

Picture those years when you were a little pumpkin or superhero wobbling along the sidewalk with your parents, clutching the handle of that quintessential plastic pumpkin container.

Years later, Halloween got even more exciting once trick-or-treating turned into something done with a group of friends; no parental supervision and all shenanigans, with original and funny costumes, funny at least to middle schoolers.

My personal favorite at the time was fourth-grade me going as a “Mexican Werewolf,” which consisted of me wearing a werewolf costume and an oversized, heavy sombrero my mom brought back from a business trip.

Of course, this was before the issue of cultural appropriation in Halloween was brought to light, and is not something that I endorse or agree with.

Every year since 5th grade, I would say that it was my last year trick-or-treating, and that would be the end of it, but I kept it on until probably 7th grade, when I came to the traumatic realization that I was too old to trick-or-treat, a rite of passage akin to finding out Santa Claus isn’t real yet somehow even worse.

This completely went against my 2nd grade promise to myself that I would be trick-or-treating every year in my childhood until age 18.

So here I am, a senior in high school, not preparing to go trick-or-treating despite the fact that seven-year-old me pledged otherwise.

Call me sentimental, but I don’t think, nor do I want, my last Halloween as a kid to devolve into an occasion of going to some party and look good doing it.

I’m not claiming that teenagers should go out and dress up as pumpkins and ask mom and dad to take them trick-or-treating. That would be… not okay.

But rather, enjoy the holiday for what it is, because it’s still a special occasion and the one time where it’s acceptable to play dress-up.

Go ahead and wear a costume to school, especially if you’re a junior or senior. Maybe don’t buy pre-made batman costume, but hit up a Salvation Army or Goodwill to try and construct something yourself.

Watch a scary movie! Eat candy and junk food, even if you had to buy it! Be spooky and sentimental and enjoy the night!

At the very least, if you end up going to a Halloween party on that fateful, spooky night, at least have some decorations or a scary playlist: how’s “The Monster Mash” on loop for a terrifying night?