As the seasons change during the 2018 fall semester here at Guilford College and we start to near Thanksgiving break, students reflect on this past Halloween and their typical Halloween traditions.

At Guilford, Halloween consists of a week full of community activities, such as pumpkin carving, bobbing for apples, watching scary movies with friends and going door to door trick or treating.

“Typically, I watch scary movies on Halloween day as a tradition. I remember my first ever Halloween. I dressed up as the red power ranger,” sophomore Asa Bell said. “Most of the time my favorite costumes have been typically superhero themed and this year I wanted to be Frozone or Black Panther, but I decided to go with Miles Morales from Spider-Man.”

Although many students agreed that Halloween was one of their favorite holidays of the year, the workload from college classes does not always allow much time to enjoy trick or treating, especially when Halloween falls on a weekday, but some people still make time for the candy crazed holiday.

“For Halloween I normally dress up and now that I’m at school I wear one costume on Halloween day and another costume for the parties that happen on the weekends,” junior Maya Walfall said.

This year, Fortnite was one of the biggest costume ideas across the globe. The mainstream video game has become a sensation, from viral dances in professional sports games to Halloween costumes. In addition to the usual monster-themed costumes, viral meme costumes are also a major trend.

This year, many Guilford community members participated in Halloween-themed activities around campus, including pumpkin painting, monster movie marathons and costume parties.

“When I was younger my brother and I would dress up and go trick or treating,” Walfall said. “We never got into the pumpkin carving and I always wanted to. But I did participate in the OSLE’s ‘Spooky Szn’ Halloween themed event that included fun activities to do for people who love Halloween. So, I was able to paint a pumpkin of my choice and interact with students who also attended.”

Some students celebrated the holiday with other traditions.

“I didn’t do anything for Halloween,” junior JT Carmichael said. “Back when I was a child my parents never allowed me to trick or treat on Halloween. I was always at our church that night.

“The one of few times I did dress up on Halloween I always dressed as a football player. And this year because I stay off of campus, I didn’t drive back on Halloween day to attend any events on campus.”

Although some students did not dress up for Halloween, others did dress in a costume.

“I went to the bar on Halloween,” junior Vince Clark said. “I dressed up as a nurse but that was about it for me.”

Although many know Halloween as the day for children to dress as their favorite character and receive candy, Guilford’s Halloween events allowed students to have their own fun that day.