Two weeks ago, I came back from KCON. And I'm still having concert withdrawals as well as being salty from not getting much merchandise I had saved up for; which honestly I need to move on from because my wallet doesn't like the decisions I make when it comes down to merchandise. But either the case, I'm back from KCON.

For those of you who don't know what KCON is, KCON is a Korean convention that brings together fans from all around to share their gushy mushy feelings about artists, in addition to learning more about the Korean culture, tradition, and much more. It's also a convention where your wallet cries for help because the merchandise you usually want costs so much because of shipping since some of the photo albums are literally heavier than an iPad. And some could literally be the size of a textbook; but that's irrelevant. I went to KCON for two reasons; to see my favorite artist perform as I cry myself a river, but as well as to see friends.

KCON happens every year, and as of right now, there are currently five locations KCON is held at. Two are located in the US; NYC and LA, Japan, France, and as well as Dubai. I had saved up money from work to attend KCON in LA. Like stated, before, KCON is a convention that brings together fans, teaches the attendees that there's more to the Korean culture than the music, and more. But after KCON's convention part, there's another part that happens after the convention; the concert.

Many artists from Korea come to KCON to perform after the convention and it's where the magic of feels happen. You're basically standing/sitting in a venue for an hour to an hour and a half and basically screaming, yelling, roaring, singing, and sometimes crying at your favorite artists perform. And no it's not weird, because the people who are sitting next to you, be it your friend or a stranger, are probably doing the same thing. But if we're on the topic of feels at KCON's concert, I'd just like to tell my friends who sat with me at the concert that you guys are the real MVP for dealing with my feels and for telling me that I'm such a loud crier. You know who you are when I let you read this. And that's also irrelevant, but I just needed to put that out there for them to know how thankful I am to hear that I'm such a loud crier (also joking in this case). If it wasn't for the friends I had met, I don't really know what my life would be like right now; but probably not as exciting as it is right now.

Now I had not known of these friends until last year. And honestly, I only went to KCON for ONE and a half of a reason; to see my favorite group that I have gushy feelings over, and to see my friend who I'd finally get to meet. I met them in the year 2015 where I had no clue as to who they were. But they seemed like they had truly despised me. I got a lot of strong intimidating auras around them and never wanted to interact with them. Which in the end makes me laugh because I spent my time at KCON with them. But if you were to ask my first impressions of them, I'd just straight up tell you; I thought they didn't like me from the start. I don't know if it was because I made myself super awkward and presentable to introduce, but I thought they didn't like me. And we spent some time together last year, but still, my thoughts had never changed. Well, until I met them this year.

This year was different. Our interactions were different; I had met another side of them. I had gotten to know them a bit more and enjoy my time with them. The unforgettable memories that KCON had in store for me this year was worth the spending of an amount I will never put out there. But other than that, I was glad I got to see my friends this year because if I didn't, I don't think I'd get to call them my sister or brother. And of course this "family" doesn't stop there. Friends brought friends who brought friends. So I met a couple of new people this year and enjoyed spending my time that I had with them while roaming around the convention. It was a nice way to know people. They were nice and real great to be around. They were definitely fun to be around.

If you know me really well, you'd know that I don't usually cry. But after leaving them, hugging them on the last day of the concert, seeing them get into the cars at the hotel, it just seemed so empty. My heart kind of just sunk and fell and all of a sudden, I had started crying. I cried on the way to my cousins house, cried at the airport, cried on the plane, cried when I got home. It was an emotional way home for me. I don't know if it's because I finally realized that these are the people I can see myself communicating with for a really long time, or if it's because for some reason, I felt like I could be myself in front of them and not be completely judged about.

So now, we're all home. But we all live in different areas; some in the midwest, some in the Southern part of California, some even out of the country. Wherever we are, we keep in touch with each other, check up on each other, and make sure we're all still kicking butt in everything we do. And for some of us, KCON was the only way we could see each other. But either the case, the reunion was an unforgetable memory that I'll cherish forever. So if you friends are reading this right now, I'd just like to say; thank you and that I love every single one of you. Because of you all, I raised my standards for myself, I set new goals for myself to accomplish, and much more because of how well you all are doing.

*NOTE: This picture only has a few of us. Not all of us.