It’s Okay to Stay in, Even on Halloween

Halloween is a holiday where people get to dress up as their favorite movie characters, singers, witches, ghouls, goblins, and just about anything else they can imagine. It's a holiday that encourages creativity, and there's something fun about seeing how people choose to express themselves. But Halloween has also become synonymous with drinking, partying, and going out to bars and clubs. And I want to talk about why that aspect of Halloween isn't always worth it.

I'm not here to criticize Halloween as a holiday. I think it's supposed to be a fun night where you dress up, have a drink or two if you want, spend time with friends, and enjoy yourself. But at what point does going out stop being about having a good time and start becoming something you feel obligated to do?

This year, lines on Main Street in Farmingdale and Patchogue wrapped around the block just to get into bars and clubs. People in costumes were waiting up to an hour or two to get inside, only to find themselves in venues that were already at capacity. Once inside, making your way to the bathroom meant waiting in line for thirty minutes, while getting to the bar almost guaranteed that someone would spill a drink on you. The music was deafening, the rooms were dark and overcrowded, and keeping track of your friends became a challenge. Getting a drink could take upwards of 30 minutes because of the massive number of people crowded around the bar.

None of this sounds particularly enjoyable. Yet, because going out on Halloween has become so normalized, there's this expectation that you have to participate. Coming out of college, I've noticed how easily it becomes, "You have to go out for Halloween. You have to drink. You have to do something." After two nights of going out and not particularly enjoying it, I decided to stay home on Halloween.

I didn't do anything particularly eventful that night, but I still had a better time at home than I think I would have going out. It's not that I don't enjoy spending time with my friends. I do. But I don't enjoy waiting ridiculous amounts of time in line, struggling to walk through a crowded room, or constantly bumping into people and having them bump into me. Sometimes, it's okay to stay in and enjoy your own company. If that makes you happier than doing something you feel pressured to do, then stay in.

I'm not saying that going to bars and clubs is never enjoyable. I've gone out with friends on other occasions and had a great time. The difference is that Halloween isn't just another weekend of going out. Quite literally, everyone is outside. It becomes overcrowded.

Subway rides from Brooklyn to Manhattan can take up to 70 minutes due to late nights and delays, and an Uber for what would normally be a 20-minute drive can cost around $100. There are so many people trying to be in the same place at the same time that it becomes difficult to actually enjoy yourself. Instead of focusing on having fun, you're navigating crowds, waiting in lines, and trying to figure out how to get from one place to another.

Obviously, dressing up is fun. But not everyone wants to stay out until the early hours of the morning, get super drunk, or spend their entire night in an overcrowded bar. And those people shouldn't feel like they have to, simply because their friends are doing it or because it's what everyone else is doing.

Halloween should be about having fun, not fulfilling some social expectation. If you want to go out, go out. If you want to dress up and spend the night with a few friends, do that. And if you want to stay home entirely, that's okay, too.

It's okay to choose your own company rather than forcing yourself to do something just because everyone else in your life is doing it.