It was October, 1980. As an eight-year-old, Halloween was almost as much of an anticipated holiday as Christmas. And this year, it was even more exciting because the most popular costumes were based on the blockbuster hit from a few months ago, The Empire Strikes Back! If you were cool or ever wanted to be considered cool, you would be wearing an Empire Strikes Back costume. I fell into the aforementioned second category.   Knowing these costumes would surely sell out, I begged my mom to take me shopping to secure mine early.

Just to clarify, the costumes to which I’m referring are not the pricey, elaborate costumes that are prevalent today. These were the K-Mart specials. Two piece outfits consisting of a body-length smock that you tied around your waist and a tiny plastic mask with elastic bands so tight, that they left imprints on the sides of your face. And they were magnificent! I remember trying to decide which character I’d portray on Halloween. I could have gone the traditional route and picked Han or Luke. Or I could have been a bit more obscure and chosen C3PO. But I decided to go all in and join the dark side! I chose the Darth Vader costume. His stock was high at the time after just cutting off his own son’s hand and selling a carbonite Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt. I just figured I’d ride his coattails to coolness.

I was trick-or-treating that year with a good buddy of mine, Andy Hersey. If you keep up with my blog, you may remember him from the Snipe Hunting fiasco. I arrived at Hersey’s house, anxious to see which Empire Strikes Back character he would be wearing. What if he were a Storm Troooper? How cool would that be? We’d both be representing the Empire…and I would get to be his boss!

You can imagine my shock when he answered the door as a giant Rubik’s Cube. What was he thinking? Did he not know that everyone who was anyone was dressing up from Empire Strikes Back? I’ll admit, his costume was legit. It was a giant box with holes cut out for his head and arms. Construction paper made up the colored cubes on each side. I was impressed and disappointed at the same time. Impressed with how original and well constructed his homemade costume was. But disappointed in how much he’d be made fun of for not wearing the right costume.

It didn’t take long for me to realize how wrong I was…and to grow tired of hearing about how awesome his costume was. Not from Hersey, (he’s one of the most modest guys I know) but from every single person that answered their door that night. He would be obnoxiously complimented and gushed over while I would receive a sympathetic and almost pitiful smile. And the hits just kept on coming when we arrived at the huge church Halloween Party downtown. Hersey won first place for Best Original Costume and received a giant goodie bag full of candy and toys. Do you know what I won? Nothing. Do you know what I received? A participation popcorn ball.  Let me repeat that…a participation popcorn ball! I can’t even begin to list everything that is wrong with that phrase.

This was not one of my finer Halloweens, but it did teach me a valuable lesson. We’ll never stand out if we always follow the pack. Trying to be cool, I was determined to do what everyone else was doing that year. And in return, I, along with hundreds of others, wore the most forgettable costumes ever! Hersey? Well, he bucked the trend, dared to be different, and here we are still discussing his costume thirty-five years later.

Not much is accomplished by always following the latest fad or craze. Looking back on my life, the times I’ve stood out from the rest of the crowd (in good ways and bad ways) are when I’ve cared less about being popular and cared more about doing something I thought would make a difference. Walking to the beat of our own drummer is healthy. It’s what good leaders do. Hopefully, when we decide to throw caution to the wind and forge our own paths in life, we’ll be remembered positively. But positively or negatively, when it’s all said and done, we will always be remembered. We shouldn’t try too hard to fit in. We were all born to stand out.

Happy Halloween and May The Force Be With You!