Halloween, aka the best holiday, only comes around once a year. That means you only have one chance to go all out and make the perfect costume.

You can be as creative and original as you want, or you can be like everyone else and put on your dad’s 2012 Bears jersey and wear eye black.

I am a strong believer that basic Halloween is more fun. Mixing clothes you already own with $2 cat ears or devil horns is a cheap way to participate in the Halloween spirit. Most high school students don’t have the means to spend obscene amounts of money on a complex costume– unless you live in Hinsdale– this makes basic Halloween a practical solution.

Kids that think they’re creative geniuses argue that basic Halloween has destroyed the “true culture” of Halloween.  However, basic costumes are trendy for a reason: everybody likes them.

Sure, you can dress up as an obscure Game of Thrones reference that only a handful of people will understand, but at the end of the day, everyone knows what an angel looks like.

You’re not any more cultured than my pumpkin spice latte and cat ears because you decided to hand-sew a four-piece Hermione Granger costume.

Meanwhile, I’m having fun in my dad’s button-up shirt and backwards baseball hat. Everyone knows that I’m supposed to be a frat boy even if my shirt is so long you can’t tell I’m wearing Lululemon running shorts underneath.

Dressing up in basic Halloween outfits promote group themes or costumes because it’s easy to build off of. You can match perfectly or all look completely different and the theme will still be understood.

The harsh truth is that no one cares about your costume. Aside from three pictures and a couple hundred likes, no one will remember what you dressed up as. By Nov. 2, the pumpkins will have been replaced with Christmas trees and the amount of effort you put into your costume still won’t matter.