Halloween is by far one of my least favorite holidays. Although it’s one of the most controversial holidays amongst the Christian community for obvious and understandable reasons, it’s not why I dislike this holiday. I dislike it because I had no idea what took place on October 31st when I first came to the U.S.
I didn’t have the privilege of learning about the American culture prior to my arrival, nor did anyone give me a quick rundown after either. High school is a rough world as it is, throwing an immigrant in the middle of it with no survival tools was rough. As if I was tossed in the ocean and expected to survive with no life jacket and no swimming lessons.
I attended Centaurus high school fully aware this was a different world from what I knew. Taking it one day at a time was my only friend. Some days were good, and some days were challenging, to say the least. So, October 31st comes along; I started my day just like any other day, with no inclination of what was waiting for me at school. After my dad dropped my off, I walked to the side door, reached for the door handle and pulled it towards me and then I froze. There were weird clothing/costumes everywhere, scary and creepy masks, and what looked like blood. “How can there be blood here?” I thought to myself. Needless to say, I freaked out, let go of the door handle, and walked five miles home while crying the entire way. Taking a girl with PTSD from Iraq and placing her in high school with no knowledge of this day was an unintended punishment. I had no idea the red substance which looked like blood to me was actually red paint. I finally made it home, and through tears and panic, I was able to explain to mom what I saw. Though she was confused, she was able to console me and calm me down. When she called the attendance office, the office individual was annoyed and didn’t quite understand why I had such a hard time with it.
The next day I went back to school only to find everything back to normal, no blood, and no masks. My math teacher was an individual that attended the church which sponsored my family. Shortly after walking into his classroom, he approached me and asked “where were you yesterday?” So I explained what happened. He chuckled and asked me to stay after class so he can explain Halloween.
I never got over the holiday. It’s not one I care to celebrate, certain costumes still make me feel uneasy but I have learned to live around it. Living that moment was terrifying, but looking back now, it is absolutely hilarious and silly. It definitely makes people laugh when I tell them this story. How often in life do we struggle when we’re going through a life’s storm, our vision narrows, and our fear and anxiety grow but once it’s over, we look back and start to see the lessons learned. Although, sometimes there is no lesson other than a funny story to entertain people with. Either way, looking back, things don’t seem as bad once the storm has passed. It’s all in OVERCOMING those storms.