The Halloween Project

Halloween means so many different things to different people. For some people it is a chance to be an idealized version of ourselves - superhero, Disney princess, vampire, or sexy...well these days there are sexy costumes for anything you can think of - I'm holding out for the sexy sloth costume myself. Sometimes a costume is a chance to remember a happier time. Sometimes it is a chance to escape a shitty time in your life. This year I thought I would spend the month sharing photos of my Halloween costumes over the years.

I've always loved Halloween. I was the kid who always dressed up at school (the Marilyn Monroe costume I wore to school in the 6th grade was completely lost on my classmates). I grew up to be the adult who always dresses up for work.

The earliest Halloween costume I remember is dressing up as Mickey Mouse when I was 5 years old. My parents had just split up. My mom and I had moved into her new boyfriend's house. Her boyfriend called me "junior" instead of calling me by my name. Because he didn't like kids, I spent a lot of time alone in my upstairs bedroom playing with my stuffed animals (to be honest I preferred my room to spending time with him anyway).

This Halloween was special because I don't remember him being around and because my mom made my Mickey Mouse costume herself. I felt so loved and special and it shows on my face. My mom and I didn't know it then but this was a brief breath of happiness for us both before she met her second husband - an alcoholic who would spend 8 years terrorizing us both.