Since Halloween this year took place on Saturday, Niles North students did not get an additional day off from school to celebrate this haunted holiday as in past years. However, even without the extra day added to our weekend, many students still found various ways to make this Halloween special.

“I went to a party with my friends,” freshman Stephen Decker said, “This Halloween was one of the best Halloweens I have had because I was with a lot more friends this time [than in the past].”

While some students went to Halloween parties or went trick or treating, others enjoyed their Halloween with activities that do not specifically pertain to Halloween.

“This Halloween I went to see Marina and the Diamonds at the Riviera,” senior Hannah Solan said.

Although anyone could attend a concert any day of the year, the fact that Solan was able to attend the concert on Halloween added a candy-coated flavor and a uniquely vibrant energy to the experience.

“They had buckets of candy on stage and they would throw candy into the crowd, […where Solan was] surrounded by people in costumes,” Solan said. “There was even a couple dressed up as Bob and Linda from [the TV show] Bob’s Burgers.”

While Solan did not attend the concert dressed in a costume or expecting some Halloween magic, other students overcame obstacles to indulge in Halloween-spirited activities.

“I spent Halloween this year working […] at Akira at Old Orchard [mall].” Senior Trisha Sugay said, “After my shift, my best friend Sammy Garcia picked me up and we went to her house to watch some scary movies and binge eat candies.”

Sugay got into Halloween spirit despite having work on the same day. Meanwhile, other students chose to devote their Halloween to their work.

“On Halloween, I made [a] music supplement recording for college applications,” senior Christopher Scheithauer said.

“I worked on an APUSH project,” junior Charmee Kamdar said.

One aspect that was particularly delightful about Halloween in past years when it took place on a week day is that it allowed multiple opportunities to celebrate Halloween.

If a big project or college application deadline was fast approaching or if you were stuck with the responsibilities of prior engagements, an extra day to your weekend offered flexibility to help incorporate some celebration alongside your obligations.

“If we had off for Halloween,” Sugay said, “I would’ve gone in a haunted house.”

However, students who value celebrating Halloween will ultimately find a way to do so even if, like Sugay, they do not celebrate to the extent they would if they had an extra day off from school.

As sophomore Lucas Haberkorn said, “Halloween is a time to be free and celebrate your weirdness at any hour of the day.”

By that logic, we could even have school on Halloween and still celebrate in the early hours of the day by simply appreciating our inner Halloween spirit.

Essentially, while it may be interesting to look at how the day Halloween takes place impacts our experiences and regardless of the outside forces that offer obstacles and entryways, we all make active choices to attempt to cull an experience and memory that we would value the most.

“I spent this Halloween doing college apps […and] I will remember the euphoria of being finished,” Scheithauer said.

“This Halloween was different than any other year because I went trick or treating by myself,” Haberkorn said. However, “the thing I will remember the most about this Halloween […i]s dressing up as a giant w[h]oopie cushion and that everybody loved my costume.”

“From this specific Halloween, I will remember the whole situation as my first Halloween celebrated in high school,” Decker said.

The unique aspect of celebrating Halloween or any holiday as a high school student is that each year in high school brings vastly different concerns and perspectives out of students to impact how they approach each holiday, causing each instance to be emblematic of themselves at that point in time in their life. Since it is easier to remember how you spent a common holiday than to remember each individual day at a particular age, these memories will serve as context to yourself as you grow as a person from year to year.