Halloween Persuasive Speech

All Hallow 's Eve, or as it’s known to everyone who 's not a priest in a B horror movie: Halloween, has never been a pre-holiday season staple in my Southern Baptist family. My parents have never embraced the spooky side of Halloween. While the other kids were cramming entire chocolate bars into their mouths amid heated debates over how many rolls of Smarties it takes to equal a fun size Twix bar for a trade, I was learning how candy corn can remind me of Jesus. Not only are my parents morally opposed to Halloween, but we also live off a highway in the country where the trees form a tunnel of foliage over the road almost cheering on drivers as they fly around corners like NASCAR racers. If I had ever dared to go out trick-or-treating on this Daytona speedway of a road, I would have

Adults handing out candy asked who I was, and I, in my childish frustrations, indignantly explained my origin story and powers, angry they didn 't recognize me.
In retrospect, I had ludicrous expectations. Zleeper’s fame and reputation couldn’t bring me happiness. What should have brought me joy was making my dreams become reality, but it’s been tough to come to that realization. Life has been that same barren parking lot paved with failed expectations that I’ve had to wander in search of lasting satisfaction, but unlike that Halloween, I’ve found what I’m looking for.
Joy is elusive. It’s found in the smallest ways when you look for it, but in times of struggling, joy feels impossible to discover. Joy is specific and unique to an individual. Everyone finds their joy in different places. I find mine in the pages of books, the beats of music, the crunch of leaves in autumn, and the laughter of those I love. In my hard times, that’s where I’ve learned to go. Instead of finding happiness in candy or people’s approval, I turn up the music and crack the spine of a new story for my