halloween, the art of enchanting the soul

Halloween 1999

Halloween 2000

Nowadays, Halloween has a completely different meaning to me than it did when i was five. Back in the day, i would get so excited to get dolled up in my glamorous princess dresses (there was always a dress involved in everything i wore) and flaunt my practiced skill of "princess hand waving". You know, because princess's have different hand waves than the common person. It's more of a roll in the wrist than a sharp hand jerk from side to side. Princess's are elegant- and that is exactly what i wanted to be. A lady.    

      "Momma make me pretty!" She would curl my hair, paint my nails brilliantly red, and- if i was lucky- let me use a dab of her soft pink lipstick.


When i was five, the only statement i tried to make with my costumes was that i was a polite, beautiful princess (who maybe had magical powers, maybe not, depending on the day). In the first picture, i am hiding my teeth in a sweet smile, while clutching my sisters hands with mine. My 'Snow White' attire would most likely match Plato's definition of rhetoric: the "art of enchanting the soul". The sharp red, deep blue, and emerald gold of my attire suggest that i was royalty, a classy young woman who was a leader in the way she walked, talked, sang, cleaned, danced, and ate apples. This dress certainly mesmerized me. In the next picture, my brother and sister are sitting on rocks while i'm rocking the shot with my sassy hip pop and awkward wave. Again, our attires suggest our heroes, yet they also reflect our personalities. But that is the point of children's costumes; their only statements in appearance is to become something or someone you admire, even if it is for just one night.

      Flash forward and you get our Senior Year Halloween. My sister and i are still together in matching costumes, but we left our princess dresses at home. My friends and i went to our halloween party as The Pink Ladies from the movie Grease. Obviously the spandex is a little tighter than my flowy princess dresses, and sure- our shirts are just a little lower than they used to be. If you were to ask Francis Bacon, he would say rhetoric "is to apply reason to imagination for the better moving of the will." The reason we thought the Pink Ladies would be an appropriate option because we are senior ladies at the high school, all blonde and outgoing, energetic and pretty, but we also are really close. Our costumes reflect our imaginations and personalities (loud, crazy, and dramatic) as well as how we view each other- as a group. The shiny, pink, awesome jackets suggest that we like to have fun and are ready for a good time. As for the spandex.... well there isn't really a plausible explanation for that one. Let's be honest, it's just what everu girl wears nowadays. The point is, now we don't dress up to our aspirations; we pick a reason for our costumes (a cute group idea) and use our imagination (the Pink Ladies....perfect!) to turn it into something great. Back then there was more meaning behind it... now we just throw something on to dance in for a night.

Halloween 2012