This past Saturday, I did something that I have always wanted to do. I went to DragCon.
What is DragCon, you might ask?
DragCon is like Comic Con, but for drag queens and their fans.
People pay a ton of money to meet their favorite queens, go to panels on discussions, see performances, and have a good time. Which is what I did on Saturday. And let me tell you, it was worth it.
Deciding to actually go to DragCon was a bit of a last-minute decision. I wasn't sure I would be able to have the time with my hectic class schedule. And I would most likely end up going alone in New York City.
But I still wanted to go, and since I am in a class that takes me into the city twice a week, I feel like that last problem is handled.
So I bought the one day pass for Saturday, and took an early morning train.
Since I am directionally challenged, and since New York City sidewalks are confusing as hell, and have construction, it took me a while to find the right place. But I did, and I got there just in time. Which meant I had to stand behind a few rows of people, and could only see the top of queens' heads when the came out for the grand opening. Also, I made the stupid decision to not charge my phone overnight, and Apple maps really kills your battery, so I got stuck at the downstairs charging station for periods of time.
But those are just some small oversights.
The rest of the day was phenomenal.
I got to meet so many of my favorite queens from Drag Race. They are, in order of meeting, Ariel Versace, Blair St. Clair, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Mercedes Iman Diamond, Ra'Jah O'Hara, and Monique Heart. All of them were super sweet and weren't fazed by my fangirling.
I got to buy merchandise and really good lemonade. I didn't even care how much money I spent. I probably should've thought.
I got to see RuPaul himself dancing like no one was watching while he was DJing, although people totally were watching.
I got to see Ariel perform her two singles, Venomous and Coin, which are totally awesome and are total 2000s throwbacks. I got to see Ariel jump off the stage, exactly five feet from me. I got to see Ariel bring out surprise guest, Soju and Mercedes during her performance. I screamed the entire time and took a video for Instagram.
I got to see a video message from Elizabeth Warren.
But most of all, I felt a sense of community. I haven't felt like that in a while. Even though I came alone, I didn't feel like I was alone. I was surrounded by other members of the community, and people who love drag as much as I do.
So next year, if you have the chance to go to DragCon, and there will be more locations, and you really want to go. Do it. It's well worth it.