10.28.2010

Halloween Costumes and the Fantasies We Choose

The Corey at the Punk Rock Flea Market
with Rosalie Laughing
  

This will be the first year in a long time that I don't have any plans whatsoever for Halloween.

Well... technically speaking I'm traveling to the Grand Canyon which surely counts as a plan... it just isn't a plan that involves dressing up in any sort of costume.

A co-worker asked me this morning what I was going to be and I responded "Hiker!" Which is true of course... except it got me thinking.

In years past I would have had my "Halloween Action Plan" mapped out weeks in advance. I would have already secured the outfit and accessories necessary to complement my chosen Halloween character. Elf, Crow Girl, Belly Dancer, Peter Pan, Riveter Rosie - all of these fantasies I'd happily take on. Even if I was still working out the plans for where I would wear said costume I always had a basic idea of what I wanted to be.

But this year I had a strange realization:
Right now, in this moment I don't want to be anyone other than who I am. An artist traveling to the Grand Canyon to hike, watercolor and visit with a dear friend. An artist continuing onwards to adventures on the East Coast. An artist. Period. I am an artist

Is this what it means to "grow up"? Perhaps. Or perhaps I'll never grow up and be Peter Pan again next year.

Trick or Treat!!

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