PROS

• We are keeping childhood alive. Just because we’re older, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be able to enjoy the little things in life. We’re still kids who still like candy. Adulthood officially starts at 18, so why speed up the aging process?
• You can have fun with friends for no cost. Nowadays, there are so many activities we can do for Halloween that cost so much money. Sure Howl-O-Scream is fun, we don’t all have $60 to spend. Trick-or-treating is an activity that we can attend right in our neighborhood.
• There are worse alternatives. A typical, rebellious high school student’s idea of fun on October 31 is going to a Halloween party and getting drunk. Trick-or-treating is a family friendly activity where high school students can stay safe.
• It is a way to interact with your community. The current generation of teens embodies the stereotype of being addicted to cell phones. This activity gives us a chance to be involved in our community and to converse with our neighbors of all ages.
• It’s an excuse to wear whatever you want. Kids nowadays use Halloween as an excuse to wear whatever they want for a night. You can get away with anything, from provocative cat outfits to that weird colorful costume you got as a gag gift.

CONS

• Teenagers get in the way. Young kids on Halloween are running around with their high spirits, collecting as many Kit Kats as their pillow cases can hold. Not only do we take their candy, but we have a tendency to intimidate youngsters with our size and height.
• The outfits teens wear generally aren’t kid-friendly. Imagine: a sweet, little girl dressed as a princess is trick-or-treating. All of a sudden, this tall, 18-year-old boy comes up wearing one of the scary clown costumes that you would find at Howl-O-Scream. I would assume her night would be ruined, along with her dreams for the next six months. The costumes don’t just have to be scary like that. I would think a parent wouldn’t want their toddlers seeing girls dressed as strippers, either. That’s a whole other kind of scary.
• We are needed to hand out candy. There are two roles for people on Halloween: the trick-or-treaters and the candy givers. Many adults don’t have Halloween spirit and are too lazy to give out candy. In my household, I am always the one to hand out the candy, which is way more personal than just leaving a bowl out. Even more, conversing with the neighbors contributes to the happy spirit.
• You can buy your own sweets. Little kids have a lot more restrictions put on them, and they aren’t always as fortunate to have the ability to go to places to buy candy. We’re teens, we have the money to buy our own candy, whether our parents like it or not.