Ghost of Halloween Pasts

This past weekend, I went to my childhood home and decided to look through some old pictures. There is something about looking at moments of my childhood captured through a lens that always feels slightly somber. It is like I am looking at something that I should remember but often don't. And I wish I did. I'm always wishing to remember more. Regardless, this blast into the past was more nostalgic than anything. My dad and I spent two hours sharing our findings with permanent smiles on our faces. There were a lot more of my older sister than me, but that is something the youngest sibling just has to expect: her parents to not be as dedicated to capturing her life on film. Not because they loved me any less, but because they had already lived through the experience of birthing a child. With that being said, since it is October, I have decided to honor my favorite holiday with some of my old costumes and how I felt about them at the time. I could not find as many as I wanted, not even from my first Halloween, but that is the price of living in the moment I suppose. Anyways, enjoy little Olivia, she was a ham.

Olivia knew who she was from a very young age... a clown. If any of you remember Jojo's Circus from Disney Playhouse, then I might look familiar. But for those of you who don't, no need to worry. Jojo looked exactly like my depiction of her. I loved this show so much as a young child; I even had a circus-themed birthday party because of it. With this costume, the intention was there but my hair being more visible than the wig and my extremely faded red nose takes away from its essence. But I have to give myself an A for effort and for the self-expression.

Next up is, you guessed it! Tinker Bell. I had to include two pictures of this costume, because I used to do the Debby Ryan smirk when anyone other than my parents took my picture and I love to pay homage to Debby. I think I should take note from my younger self and start smiling like that again. This was from my first year of preschool, and you better believe I was stunting on all the other three-year-olds.

If you asked me as a child what the greatest film ever created was, I would have said High School Musical without a doubt. I was in love with both Troy and Chad at the same time. Honestly, some things never change. I still have a soft spot for two male best friends... cough, cough... Challengers. I don't know if the person taking the photo told us to pose or if I just chose to hit a sassy version of the Superman pose, but that popped hip means business. The hair, on the other hand, we don't have to talk about. It may have been messy, but I was the best-looking blonde Gabriella the world has ever seen.

Let me set the scene for this next costume. I loved ball gowns and sparkles, so any combination of the two was an immediate MUST for me. My mom and I were at the thrift store after piano lessons when I saw this dress. I thought it was the most gorgeous article of clothing to ever exist. I knew it would be perfect for a Halloween costume, and my ego was so big I truly believed people would be convinced that I won Miss Universe. I had my mom do my makeup and bring out the family jewels. I don't know why I looked unhappy in this picture, because I remember feeling like the baddest second grader ever.

One thing about me is I've always had a vision and found a way to clearly execute it. And so, when I was racking my brain for costume ideas in hopes of winning my grade school's costume contest and Medusa popped up in my brain, I knew what I had to do. I went to my mother, and we DIYed this masterpiece. Snakes were hot glued to my clothes and my hair, and I even got to put temporary green dye in my green hair. To this day, I think this is my most creative costume.