My favorite time of year is when Halloween decorations start showing up in the aisles of stores.

The orange and black all over the place, hundreds of pumpkins and ghosts, costumes appearing in the gardening section of Walmart’s. I love it all.

The sales on candy bags and decorations I then keep around for the rest of the year. I have a serious love for Halloween décor at basically all times.

For years I loved dressing up and trick-or-treating. As I got older, the people in my town were not the nicest when I came to the door.

I grew up tall and for that reason was always told I looked older than I was. I remember I was offered a job in multiple stores when I was only 13 or asked if I worked in different places even wearing clothes nowhere near their uniform.

I stopped trick-or-treating when I was about 13 or 14 because I felt like I was too old and people continued to tell me I was too old for it. Why do we have this stigma? What is the issue with dressing up one day a year to show off your costume and get some candy? Is enjoying candy set to an age limit too?

I never understood why trick-or-treating is specifically only for children and once you hit a certain age, you cannot have fun anymore.

A few hours before I sat down to write this, my friends asked me if I wanted to go trick-or-treating. I hesitated and almost said no for the fact I have been conditioned into thinking I am too old.

I had to stop and think about it afterward because my friends looked so excited as college students to go do something I had been told for years I could not do anymore. I was about to tell them no because of a silly opinion that stopped me from something I used to love.

Why are we putting age limits on things? What is the point of saying children are the only ones who can have fun?

Are adults incapable of finding happiness in something as simple as dressing up one day a year?

Halloween is literally a holiday based around being something else for one day. Why is it only limited to children?

I know I keep asking the same questions about why we think that way, but the point of living is not to just eat, sleep, and go to work. So, to answer the original question: How Old is Too Old to Trick or Treat? The answer is never. Having fun has no age limit.

So, if someone older comes to your door trick or treating in the future, give them some candy and go on with your day. Turning them away for being older is just a way to hurt someone else for absolutely no reason.

They are out there having fun; they are not affecting your life in the long run so just give them some candy and be a good human.

Kierstyn Budz can be reached at krbudz@eiu.edu or 217-581-2812.