Debbie Downer Celebrates Halloween

What is it with people and Halloween? Not to be Debbie Downer (only people who are about to be Debbie Downer say this…), but I think I am going to pass on celebrating this year.

Yep, I am the one person not looking forward to the holiday that has long padded the pockets of Brach’s employees, the candy corn people, and dentists, the cavity filling folks, everywhere.

You are welcome to try to change my mind about the holiday. I warn you, though, that I am a tough sell.

Describing the Kate Gosselin backwards mullet wig you can’t wait to wear or sharing your idea for a Balloon Boy costume will not drive me to grab the nearest Ed Hardy shirt and join you dressed as Jon.

I guess I am just not sure why everyone is so eager to be someone else. (I know, I am being Debbie Downer, in spite of my promise above). It seems to me that, both in determining a career and carving out a life, people have enough trouble being themselves by acknowledging their positive qualities and copping up to the challenges they face. Why do we need a day to celebrate these disguises?

Here is an idea, instead of dressing up, what about making Halloween a day during which the layers people often hide behind are removed. Make it a day when people expose their good and bad, a day when those less visible characteristics that are often tucked away just beneath the surface are on full display.

For instance, during a number of interviews I have scheduled in the coming weeks, I will dutifully sit in front of HR executives and hiring staff and tell them what they want to hear – how their organization is a perfect fit and how I am certain this is the opportunity that will further my career. However, wouldn’t it be great if, for one day, I could take off the mask that hides my uncertainty and confusion? If I was able to say to those executives that I do not know exactly what I want to do, but I do know that I am capable of doing nearly anything, including this job, and I am hoping this is the position that will challenge me and give me a sense of personal satisfaction. I hope this is it – that I will want to come here, stay here, and be here for the next 5-10 years.

Now there is a hard sell.

We all tend to display the qualities that we believe others want to see. However, to some extent, we are all a bundle of inconsistencies and contradictions. We are stubborn, yet easygoing. We are impatient, yet good under pressure. We are confident, yet insecure. We are strong in our convictions, yet impressionable.

The good stuff - the confidence, the poise, the strong convictions – those are the easy things to show off to the world. But the other parts – the uncertainties, the doubts, the worries - these are the more difficult pieces to acknowledge. Yet only by embracing both sides of our personality can we understand ourselves and consider what career or path through life makes the most sense for our whole self.

That said, maybe I am being Debbie Downer. Maybe Halloween is the occasion to don a mask and to, for one day, forget about trying to figure it out.

Bring on the miniature Hershey bars, Snickers, and Twix. I can already feel the cavities beginning to form.