This reminds me of the scene in Amazon Women on the Moon where the guys was running around town naked because he believed he was the invisible man. 
But seriously, Halloween is the perfect holiday for us introverts. The whole point is to NOT be you. Just put on a mask and no one will either A: notice you, or B: know who you are.
I’m so, so glad to hear that everyone had fun and that the party was a hit. That makes me so happy. 
And it’s just a joy to read about y’all’s firsts and how much they mean to you. Maybe someday you’d consider starting an AMA thread. It would be fascinating.
Thanks for sharing and good luck on the costume!
We always did what everyone else did when we came knocking on their door with our magazines…we turned off the lights and hid in our own homes, lol. Closed the curtains and watched tv or whatever. It was just any other night for us, minus a view outside.
I’d be happy to start an AMA. Where would I do so here? Should it just be an AMA about my life as a JW, or my life afterward? My life is an open book, so I’m happy to share.
I would think that should go in MPSIMS and both sides of the coin, as it were. I know I’d be interested in all facets and I doubt I’m alone. So, do eeeeeet!
Please. 
Will do! I guess I’ll go ahead and post it up and just answer things as I have time between work and sleep and random tasks. I’ve never done one before but I think I’ve read maybe one on reddit before about something interesting. Should be fun.
It will be. And put a link here, too, so anyone from this thread that wants to can easily find it.
Good luck!!
If you don’t mind the person-to-person contact…
In college I would always buy a pack of cheap undershirts and show up at the party wearing just that and carry a magic marker with me.
When people asked what I was, I would say “I’m a whiteboard, draw on me” and give them the marker.
The night would always start off with signatures and smiley faces…but the drunker people got, the funnier the pictures got! I would even bring multiple shirts as the party went on and I lost out on real estate for drawing.
Frankly, in your situation, if you just ask for signatures and smileys you could have a pretty fun souvenier from your first Halloween!
Alright, so we did it! We had two Halloween parties to go to last night. The first was small, just a handful of people and I felt bad for the hosts because they put a lot of work into it and people that committed to coming didn’t. It was an older crowd, my age or so 39, lol. The second was absolutely packed and a younger crowd, probably mostly in their twenties. It was Harry Potter themed and incredibly well done.
So my wife went as Allie Brosh from the Hyperbole and a Half blog. She created her own costume and used a pumpkin shaped pinata to create the head. Here she is:
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o99/shemwelljr/20161021_231154_zpsosdgl0we.jpg
I went through with my plan to get some cool light up things that I liked. I bought a black light up hoodie that was edged in green neon lights, green neon light up shoelaces, and a black shirt with a rubix cube on it that would light up and down depending on the sound around me like an equalizer. Here I am:
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o99/shemwelljr/20161022_183044_zpsgl0wrp5y.jpg
You could see that lit up really well in any light, but I took a picture in the dark because it looked cool. Here’s my shirt:
At the first party people were all dressed up. We were there first, and the only people for about an hour and a half. People did like our costumes. They said they had a hard time having a serious conversation with my wife if she had her head on though, lol. They loved my neon.
The second party had people dressed up, many like Harry Potter, but there were also a lot with little or no costume. It was a good test of our costumes. People liked my wifes, again, but we did find that most people had no clue who she was. If you don’t know that blog or the “clean all the things” meme, you’re not going to have any idea who she was. As for me, people loved what I had on. I guess it did get me attention and I had hoped to fade into the background a bit, but honestly part of the reason I don’t like attention is because it’s been negative in my life. I always stood out for the wrong, awkward reasons as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Last night I stood out because people thought what I had on was super cool. Nobody thought I was supposed to be a certain person or even asked, they just loved what I had on. They kept coming up and talking into my shirt to watch it light up or checked out my hoodie and shoes. It was a great conversation starter and I met a lot of people due to it, but in a good way. I made some new friends last night.
Thanks again to the Dopers for your input. Even if I didn’t take yours specifically, it helps to talk things out with others and to get ideas. I’m an anxious guy, both naturally and just because so much is new to me, but discussions like this help me quell the anxiety some. My wife actually ended up way more nervous than I was and I got to help her through it. It was all good until time came to put that costume on that she made and to show it off to others. As she said to me, “I always wanted to be in theater or something, but I never said I wouldn’t have stage fright”. She made it through like a champ and had a lot of fun too. It was a great introduction to Halloween for us.
Should have worn a viking horned helmet covered in fake fur, and gone as her alot. She could then get to say “I love my husband Alot” to people.
Glad you had fun, and tell your wife her costume was awesome.
That is all really good news and I kind of want to hug you guys.
Haha, that’s awesome. I didn’t even know that was a thing. I’ll pass on your idea and your comment. Thanks man.
Thanks! We take all comers on the hugs. We’ve gotten more hugs in the year we’ve been out of the JWs than we got in the decades preceding. It’s been a good time and people that we’ve been fortunate enough to meet have been very supportive as we’ve started life over again.
Hmm I think you guys are lying about your Halloween experience and how cool you wanted your costumes to be…
You both dressed like pros and had better costumes than most seasoned veterans!
Way to go!
Haha, thanks Zipper! We had similar comments about my wife’s first birthday party. You’ve got to go big for your first celebrations and make them memorable, or as big as you’re comfortable with. I’m sure lots of people kind of let things go as the years go by and yet another holiday comes around, but it’s all exciting and new to us.
Loved both costumes! Your wife must be an excellent artist!
I immediately thought of you being the “Alot” too. But I think your costume was awesome.
It reminded me of these: Glowy Zoey LED stick figure family - YouTube
You can go to Halloween parties wearing your regular, everyday clothes…
I’m a homicidal maniac, they look just like everyone else.
-Wednesday Addams
Thanks! I love those stick figure costumes too. I thought of those before I put my own little light up thing together.
My wife loves to color and started painting some recently. She has fun with it. She loved the suggestions here of making me the “Alot” when I told her last night what was said on here.
I like it. I also like your username. I read 1984 after I left Jehovah’s Witnesses and I think 1984 must have been written by an ex-JW.