Now that Halloween is upon us, so are the stresses that accompany the spooky celebration of this holiday.

The pressure begins when people start talking about their Halloween costume ideas as soon as Oct. 1 hits. Cats, witches, devils, police officers — all of these planned disguises for the last day of the month start swirling around.  I cannot help but feel obligated to think in the same way, but my creative juices do not seem to be flowing at all.

What’s my personal costume idea? I might go as Hermione Granger for the fourth time or just settle for wearing some festive earrings and socks. Maybe I’ll experiment this year by trying to organize a group costume with some of my friends, like different superheroes or a bunch of 80’s girls.

Additionally, Halloween decorations are kind of a big deal in my family. Every year, my dad spends a weekend in October embellishing the exterior of our house with his favorite ghosts and ghouls. In my opinion, the end product is quite a sight to see compared to our neighbors’ pleasant pumpkins and friendly scarecrows.

The stress from this sets in after the scariest night of the year. I find myself constantly questioning if everything will even be taken down before Thanksgiving. Thankfully, it tends to work out every time.

Arguably one of the most stressful parts of Halloween is deciding just how much candy is socially acceptable to indulge in. No one will know just how much I actually end up consuming, but I can feel some judgemental stares in the cafetorium when I’m still packing candy in my lunch a week after the holiday passes.

Overall, I believe it’s important to truly relish in the celebration of Halloween while we still can as teenagers. These silly “stressors” really just make it all that more enjoyable. After all, I want to be able to laugh about my ridiculous costumes, crazy decorations and candy concerns when I look back upon this time in my life.