As kids, Halloween meant two things: you get to dress up like something you’re not, and you get a free pass from your parents to eat a bunch of sugar rush inducing treats. The very idea of Halloween makes little kids’ eyes light up with joy, but what about now that we’re ornery, “mature” teenagers? And what about the countless adults that dread seeing that office Halloween party invitation on their desk?

Nowadays, I feel like everyone is in such a rush to grow up. We view our middle school graduation as the end of our tween years and a step toward more “freedom.” But, as good as that may feel, I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I miss a lot of things about being a kid. The good old days when all we had to worry about was what shade of yellow crayon we should use to color the sun. The time when we consumed countless packs of fruit snacks, cookies and chips because we just didn’t care.

On that note, I find myself this Halloween asking the question: am I too old to trick-or-treat? What about dressing up? Is there a point in one’s life where this annual tradition becomes… “uncool”? Personally, after much thought, I don’t feel like there is.

I can already see the eyes rolling, but hear me out. I would first like to mention though that I may be a little biased considering the fact that I still get asked if I want a children’s menu at restaurants. Being short and always looking younger than my actual age, I’m on board to trick-or-treat for as long as possible. But even for those of you who aren’t in my situation, I still don’t think it’s ever too late to participate.

Now, I’m not talking about all of our grandparents going from door to door dressed as pumpkins, I just think that if you still just want to dress up, then you should.

Trick-or-treating might be a little bit of a stretch, but costumes aren’t totally lame when you’re 30. There’s plenty of people I know that are well into their late twenties and thirties that still dress up. There’s plenty of wiggle room too for what to go as when you get older; you can be whatever you want, really.

And yes, there may be people giving you weird stares throughout the day, but they’re probably just jealous because they didn’t have enough courage to rock a leather jacket and a semi-cheap wig. But I guess if you still think that trick-or-treating and dressing up should just be left to the young-ins, then maybe you can just throw on a cat headband or a baseball cap and call it a day. Who cares? At the end of the night, it’s all just about having fun…and the candy.