The sinister month of October has snuck up on us once again! I was joined by millions last Friday who were shocked that October crept onto our calendars. Stores are already plastered with the contents of little children’s nightmares and tacky colors. I do believe that Halloween was given the colors all the other holidays didn’t want, thus being left with orange, purple, and black.

Anyway, now is the time to prepare yourself for midterm projects, flannel, cider, Kercher’s Orchard Instagram posts and the inevitable question of what to be for Howell-o-ween. For those of you who don’t know, Howell-o-ween is an event that, coincidentally, falls on Halloween. The Howell house– whether they like it or not–hosts the whole school for a small-spaced, no jumping, picture-taking costumed event.

Don’t have any ideas? There are options. If you want to be traditional, then go to Goodwill and be some version of a tacky grandma, go together with your dorm floor all dressed the same, or if all else fails, wear a name tag of another person. However, none of these beat the creative potential ideas that are locked up in your brain somewhere.

If you tap into that, the whole school will remember you forever. These are my suggestions: go as your favorite professor; even better, go as their spirit character, like Bob Yoda. Be the wise, small, pastoring men they both are, or go as a staff food combo, i.e. Brooke Lemon, Erin Milanesa, Julie Reese’s, or Oreo Miller.

Additionally, October is the beginning of “cuffing season”. For those not aware of this term, it is a nationally recognized season when people seek romantic relationships as the weather takes a turn for the frigid. Urban Dictionary adds, “The cold weather and prolonged indoor activity causes singles to become lonely and desperate to be cuffed.”

This phenomenon hits a peak in October at the end of the month as more people watch scary movies and “accidentally” bring one blanket.  If you need evidence of cuffing, just walk through the connectors around 11:00 p.m. Special friends who no longer can hang out in dorm rooms flock to the connectors, and it also does not help that the first-years are finally “getting to know each other”. I apologize, first-years, for you do provide a source of entertainment for older students.

Aside from costume shenanigans and first-year hooligans, October is a great time to dust off those jeans and sweaters, to admire all the pretty leaves and to celebrate all things squash. Happy October, everyone, and I will see YOU at Howell-o-ween!