Halloween

We were talking in English class the other day about how much Halloween costumes have changed over the years. It used to be that people would dress up as common characters like pirates, superheros, zombies, witches etc. These ideas are still popular, but now there are the "sexy:" witches and "leg avenue" pirate costumes. I guess the knowledge issue here is why this change in what is deemed acceptable has occurred. My theory is that these new racy costumes reflect the desire of society to look attractive, which goes back to the influence the media has (like ads) on the public. If one does not feel comfortable wearing one of these costumes, as many don't, there are few other costumes to choose from. I wonder if there will be a change in the future back to more conservative costumes? Or maybe they will get even worse...

Supporting friends

I have found that recently a few of my friends have been experiencing some challenges, and so I have tried my best to be supportive and help them as best I can. My knowledge issue with this subject is how to be the most helpful. Sometimes it's hard to tell if it is best for the specific situation to be silently supportive in the background, or to try to talk about the problems the person is experiencing. I guess another way to look at this is if there are circumstances when being helpful is not really possible so it's better to be harmless. It can also be difficult to be supportive when you have not personally experienced the issue that your friend is currently going through. I just try to be kind, present, and try not to make it worse by saying something wrong. It's tough, but I think it is very important to put in this effort for the people you care about.