Freezing air slowly crept into my lungs, piercing my abdomen with the feeling of 100 icicles as I forged ahead toward the infected. Many had cautioned that I might not make it out of the night alive, but their warnings could not stop me from pushing forward with my plan. With a final gasp of frigid air, I turned the corner of a building and faced the horrible monstrosities that had taken over downtown Reno: zombies.

These were not your typical brain-eating zombies though; instead, they were just drunk people in zombie makeup trying to enjoy the annual Reno Zombie Crawl. As part of the city’s Halloween festivities each year, bars throughout the downtown district open their doors to people in all kinds of zombie costumes, from intricate face makeup to the lazier “survivor” option that requires nothing more than a camouflage hat and Nerf gun.

Despite its obvious theme, it seems like every year there is always a population that would rather use the night to show a little skin than exert any creative effort whatsoever. For example, in my four hours downtown, I saw a group of sexy reindeer, a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and a decked out Marilyn Monroe, none of whom even slightly resembled zombies. Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity to put together a creative costume, they defaulted to the common choice for people these days: “sexy (insert random profession and/or object here).”

While I can appreciate that not everyone will want to dress as a zombie for the crawl, it is still frustrating that people were more concerned with being “sexy” than scary, unique or creative. Halloween is supposed to be a time that we transcend our normal identities to be something different. Why, then, are people wearing less clothing than they might wear on a typical Saturday night?

This obsession with sexy Halloween costumes illustrates a larger point about the way our society works. Instead of receiving attention for creativity, cleverness or the ability to transform one’s identity, people resort to sex for attention. In today’s technological age, we are led to believe that our self-worth is based on the amount of attention that we receive, whether it be through likes, retweets or profile views. We commend our friends for the first time they break 100 likes on Instagram and feel a twinge of joy when another person favorites our tweets. We have constant access to attention, so the thirst for more seemingly never stops.

For that reason, as we get older, we begin to use Halloween as just another outlet for attention. This need to be seen manifests itself in “sexy” yet unoriginal and downright strange, costumes, like a promiscuous piece of corn. No, you did not misread that. This year, thousands of women will be walking around as a sexy piece of corn. Where’s the fun in that?

Sexy Halloween costumes only reflect our society’s emphasis on physical beauty and its role in getting us the attention that we believe we deserve. Instead of focusing so much on being seen for our physical characteristics, we should put more effort on thinking beyond what is considered the norm.

Don’t get me wrong, it would be silly to believe that sexy Halloween costumes will fall completely out of fashion. No matter what I say, the “sexy Tarzan loincloth” costume will probably always fly off the rack. But you should challenge yourself to think differently. Stop letting this need for attention drive you to buy a Halloween costume you think society expects you to wear. Be clever and bold, not generic for sexiness’ sake.

This column is not meant to shame any person who chooses to wear a sexy costume; after all, you’re embracing your body and that’s a commendable act. However, I do believe that Halloween costumes should be unique and fun. This is the only time of the year to completely change our identities and not be judged by anyone. Slapping on a sexy maid outfit completely defeats the purpose of immersing yourself in a costume.

Stop working so hard to be seen for your body, because you’re better than that. You’re a unique individual that is experiencing life through your own distinct lens. Use Halloween as a reflection of your imagination, not the extra hours you spent at the gym. You might not get as much attention, but I guarantee you’ll have more appreciation for the attention that you do receive.

Daniel Coffey studies journalism. He can be reached at dcoffey@unr.edu.