For the past three years, I’ve been on a mission to dress up as a breast cancer ribbon for Halloween. When most people first hear the idea, they think I mean wearing a pink dress and pinning the infamous breast cancer pendant on my chest. But no, I’m going for a full-out, over-the-top, big, silky, bright pink ribbon —  I want to BE the ribbon! The problem is I haven’t quite figured out how I’m going to make my unique idea come to life.

    Each year, I’ve settle for less-than-original costumes (angel, sexy kitten or tooth fairy) because of the lack of time to think out the logistics, lack of money to spend on it or pure lack of enthusiasm about this holiday until it’s too late. But with it being my last Halloween in college and the urge to get it off my bucket list, I’ve decided I’m going big or not going at all.

    While I run around town to craft stores looking for enough ribbon for my idea, I have a few suggestions on how to make your Halloween costume one to remember this year:

1.    Think outside of the box. Like I said, I settled over the past three years and although those outfits turned out pretty darn cute (check my Facebook page if you’d like to see for yourself), I wasn’t the only kitty cat or angel in the room.

       Avoid comparing your outfit to someone else’s by coming up with something you haven’t seen done before. It may take a little more planning, but it will be totally worth it when the compliments (and Instagram photos) come rolling in.

2.    Don’t end up looking like a slut. Yeah, I said it. For some reason, Halloween has been misconstrued as the-one-holiday-I-can-wear-next-to-nothing-and-not-be-judged-for-it-because-it’s-a-costume (Did you get all that?). But it’s not. Halloween can be a time to find your inner kid again, use your imagination and play dress up. There are so many outfits out there that are sexy and not slutty, so choose wisely.

3.    This may rule out my last suggestion, but have a little fun with your alter ego because everybody has one. Maybe your regular personality isn’t bold and boisterous, but we don’t have to know that.

    Become a sexy (not slutty) superhero who has a no-holds-barred attitude for the night. Or maybe you’re brown-skinned and petite (like me), but your inner goddess is Beyoncé. I say go for it! Who am I to tell you not to? Whatever you do, let loose and have a little fun.

    There’s typically only four years of college and it’s a time to define who you are, which includes finding your personal style. Halloween is the perfect time to do that and not feel bad for it. With that being said, I hope to see some top-notch costumes this year and I better not see another breast cancer ribbon.