By Gina Hong

   Haunting decorations line the streets, and the air turns crisp as kids and teens prepare costumes for the last night of October. Doorbells are rung and doors are knocked on before being opened to find expectant kids saying, “Trick-or-Treat!” This is a tradition students know all too well, but at what point does someone stop participating? When is someone too old for this childish fun?

  Students from the ages of 13 to 18 attend Marriott’s Ridge Highschool, and with this range of ages, the similarities and differences of their experiences can be seen. 

   14 year old freshman Ryan Kim said he went Trick-or-Treating last Halloween and planned on going this year, and would continue until he turned sixteen. He didn’t view Trick-or-Treating as childish but thought people should stop going when they turn 18, mentioning that he probably wouldn’t give candy to a Trick-or-Treater that seemed like an adult.

   Similarly, Karthik Mandavilli, a 15 year old sophomore, also thought adults should not go Trick-or-Treating unless they were accompanying a child. Halloween is a holiday he enjoys and he said he would go Trick-or-Treating this year if he wasn’t busy, and that he is going to stop going next year. 

   The juniors of Marriotts Ridge however, are more split on when someone should stop Trick-or-Treating. 

   “When 18, don’t get treats,” is what 17 year old junior Ishan Bansal said. 

   He thought that adults shouldn’t participate, not because they can’t have fun, but because free candy meant for children being taken by adults is wrong. Ishan’s friend, Ryan Huan, however, disagrees. When asked when people should stop Trick-or-Treating, he gave a different view from Ishan.

   “Never! Free candy is free candy,” 17 year old junior Ryan Huan said. 

   The maturity and the childish philosophies that these two juniors held showed the duality of teenagers.

   Meanwhile, 17 year old senior Soochan An stopped going Trick-or-Treating long ago. He is 17 like the two juniors interviewed, but he is soon turning into an adult. Soochan didn’t ever think the tradition was childish, instead he was just too lazy to go every year. The last time he went was at 10 years old in elementary school. 

   From just becoming a teen to almost becoming an adult, Trick-or-Treating is a tradition many people enjoy and partake in. Halloween would not be the same holiday people love without the candy obtaining ritual. The general consensus from the Marriotts Ridge students was that Trick-or-Treating is not a childish tradition but it isn’t for adults. Everyone could experience the joys of Halloween, but adults going to doors asking for free candy wasn’t the intention of Trick-or-Treating.