ItB次元官网网址檚 a question that gets more pressing with every year: to trick or treat or not to trick or treat? 

ItB次元官网网址檚 Halloween, which means that the most fearsome creatures ever to darken the land will come crawling out of the woodwork. Zombies! Vampires! Teenagers! 

Yes, itB次元官网网址檚 a question youth may find themselves asking every Halloween: B次元官网网址淎m I too old to trick or treat this year?B次元官网网址� 

And to that I say, why? No one chooses to stop trick-or-treating. ItB次元官网网址檚 foisted upon us by cruel societal expectations. Given the choice, who in their right mind would forgo the ability to gather immense bags of candy just to go to a party? Absolutely no one. You can go to a party any dang time of year, but trick or treating is a once-a-year event, not to be missed. 

So why is it that society (adults) forces us to put the pillowcases on the pillows instead of using them as makeshift sugar sacks? The answer could be many things. My personal assumption is that they are perpetuating a bitter cycle. Their parents forced them to give up trick-or-treating, so now they must visit that pain upon us to work through their own Halloween grief. Really, itB次元官网网址檚 quite sad. 

But to those adults who cry, B次元官网网址淚 wonB次元官网网址檛 give candy to any teenagers trick-or-treating, theyB次元官网网址檙e just too oldB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� I urge you to think a little more critically about that. 

These teenagers could be getting up to all sorts of mischief in the neighbourhood. They could be egging your house, stealing your Halloween decorations, becoming inebriated and therefore an even greater nuisance B次元官网网址� and the list goes on. (For quite some time, I can assure you). 

But theyB次元官网网址檙e not. Instead, theyB次元官网网址檙e getting all dressed up and politely asking for some candy. TheyB次元官网网址檙e not being violent, or rowdy, or even plain rude. I think that kind of behaviour should be rewarded. 

Now, there may be some adults who still insist that trick-or-treating is a little kidB次元官网网址檚 game. And youB次元官网网址檙e certainly entitled to your opinion. But itB次元官网网址檚 not like the 11th grader who is politely requesting some candy at your doorstep is some sad 40-year-old man in a faded Batman T-shirt. These are still kids, just a little older. 

Of course, that does come with a tiny little asterisk. No one likes it when you phone something in. (Just ask my editor.) If youB次元官网网址檙e an older trick-or-treater, youB次元官网网址檇 better bring your A game. 

Personally, I believe that the older you get, the more effort you should put into your costume. LetB次元官网网址檚 see something fun! Something that makes the populace want to shower you with candy for your efforts! ItB次元官网网址檚 the one time a year you get to wear a costume in public without judgment. Have fun with it.

Obviously, not everyone will want to trick-or-treat. Some of us simply feel like doing other things, and thatB次元官网网址檚 perfectly understandable. Lame, but understandable. 

Ultimately, all that matters is that you enjoy yourself this Halloween. And if you want to trick or treat, donB次元官网网址檛 feel bad or be self-conscious about it. Just enjoy it. ItB次元官网网址檚 a fun holiday where we can indulge in the fear of werewolves and mummies and witches. Just donB次元官网网址檛 indulge the fear of being too old.

Happy Halloween! 

Gabriel Mackintosh is a student at Royal Bay Secondary School.