I have gone to Denver Comic Con every year since 2012. The first year I went it was very out of the blue. One of my best friends called me and begged me to buy a three day pass to the convention so that he wouldn't have to be alone. I had no idea what I was getting into, but the second I stepped into the Colorado Convention Center that year I knew I would never miss this convention. That first year I just sort of stumbled around, following my friend through the hallways and looking at the really unique art and souvenirs you could get, playing games in their huge video game room. Now, I not only know that celebrities go to these things, but throughout the year I keep track of who is planning on going to Denver Comic Con and save up to meet at least one of my favorite actors. If you weren't there this year, you missed out. And here's why.

Denver Comic Con isn't the biggest conventions in the country, but we are getting there. We had one of the biggest celebrities come to our convention this year: Stan Lee. That's right, the creator of Marvel was there, and it was incredible. I didn't get to meet him personally, but I did see him from afar and I am insanely jealous of the people who had even a moment with him. There were a lot of other pretty cool celebrities too. There was Alex Kingston, Cary Elwes, Ian Somerhalder, Jenna Coleman, John Barrowman, and a whole bunch of other awesome actors and actresses. I didn't get to meet all of these lovely people, but I'm happy to say that I was near them at all.

Another huge part about the convention are all the panels that they have. I'm not just talking about the celebrity panels where you get to hear your favorite people talk about what it's like filming, although those ones are really cool too. But I'm focusing on the other panels, the ones that don't always seem as possible because not everyone is as focused on them.

There are panels about education, about gender equality in the classroom, how to make students feel safe at school, tons others like that. Why do they have these panels? Because school is something that Pop Culture Classroom values and is a huge part of why they put on Denver Comic Con each year. The Pop Culture Classroom focuses on finding ways to bring comics and other things that kids are interested in into the classroom so that they're engaged and wanting to learn. As someone who wants to become a teacher and help students as much as possible, this is a huge reason why I now go to Comic Con. It's not just about the cool cosplays or the celebrities. It's about learning something that might help me in my future. Who knows, maybe you can find something you love at this convention too.

The games are always fun, the celebrities are great, the cosplays that people have made are always so intricate and beautiful. I even made one myself this year, I went as Princess Anna from Frozen. But that's not the only reason you had to be there this past weekend. The panels were fun and inspiring, the people were kind, and just having a weekend with friends was incredible. By the end of the weekend we all hated each other because we were sick of each other, but we still all had fun together, and that's why Denver Comic Con will see us there again next year. Hopefully I'll see you there next year, as well.