Remember how it was totally socially acceptable for us as children to dress up as whatever we wanted during Halloween? I do. I fondly remember the years when I dressed up as things ranging from ninjas, pirates, ghosts, and cowboys. It was some of the best memories I have from my childhood—pretending to be someone that I thought at the time to be super badass. But then we reached our high school years and it was suddenly "weird" or "lame" for us to dress up on Halloween, or just in general. Well, I'm a firm believer that although we should become more serious and mature as we get older, we should never stop being children at heart, and the perfect place to do that is at an anime convention.

1. Anime Conventions encompass a huge range of interests.
   Once you step foot inside an anime convention, there’s always something for you to do. From panels that are hosted by fans, celebrities, and people working in the industry, to workshops where attendees can learn a wide variety of things, to screenings where major anime television shows and movies are screened, to artist and dealers rooms where beautiful artwork and great merchandise is sold, anime conventions have it all. You can also just walk around and take photos of the amazing cosplays that you see, or even whip out your Gameboy and challenge the people who wander around looking for an opponent to fight in a Pokémon battle!
   
2. Anime Conventions are more universal, unlike comic book conventions like Comic-Con.
   Now I’ve never been to Comic-Con, but on Google and on their website, I’ve only seen photos of attendees cosplaying characters from western media. This doesn’t mean than no one dresses up as an anime character at Comic-Con or similar conventions, but it’s a lot more rare. On the other hand, you come to an anime convention and you’ll see the best of both worlds. Not only will you see iconic anime characters, but you’ll see TONS of well-known western characters such as Disney Princesses, Ghost Busters, Master Chief, Call of Duty soldiers, Harry Potter, Spiderman, Batman, and more. This leads me to my third point...
   You can dress up as whatever you want, and no one will bat an eye (not in a negative way).
   Cosplay is a form of self-expression. Just how we as children dressed up as characters like Superman or Wonder Woman to feel cool or empowered during Halloween, people at anime conventions do just that. We pick our favorite characters and we spend hours working on our cosplays just to don the mask for an opportunity to feel what it’s like to walk in their shoes. So if you’re embarrassed or keeping it low-key that you like to dress up, then put whatever you want on, as long as it’s not offensive, and you’re bound to blend right in.
   
   
3. Even if you don’t have a super amazing cosplay like some attendees, that’s okay; low-budget and minimalist cosplays are completely acceptable.
   If you’re into cosplaying but don’t have the time, resources, and materials to make a super-amazing cosplay, no problem! Low budget cosplays are one option, while another is minimalist cosplay, which is wearing just a single or a few pieces of a costume, like a prop weapon, a mask, a cape, etc.
   
   
4. Anime Conventions are the perfect place to wear your nerdy clothing without feeling exposed or judged.
   I’ll admit that I have tons of graphic tees that are a bit embarrassing to wear in public or at school. Hell, I was even made fun of for having an anime keychain on my backpack. But at anime conventions, the more the merrier. So put on that Lord of the Rings shirt, or that My Little Pony shirt. It’s all good in the hood convention center.
   
5. Artist or not, you can appreciate the sheer ingenuity and creativeness that you will see.
   Some of the things you’ll be saying all weekend is “Wow.” I promise. The very first anime convention I went to, I saw people cosplaying as full-sized Warhammer 40k troops, Gundam Fighters, and Power Rangers who looked like they came right out of the show. Sometimes these costumes are store-bought, and sometimes they’re made from scratch, but either way, there will always be cosplays that are sure to impress.
   
6. Having a simple conversation with a fellow attendee will shed more light on what they do and why they do it.
   There’s a video on YouTube where a man and his friends come across someone cosplaying as the White Power Ranger:
   The man immediately starts freaking out in excitement and says at the end of the video in reference to the White Power Ranger cosplayer: “That’s my childhood, walking around.” The two of them then pose together and strike fighting poses while a friend takes a picture. Many comments on the YouTube video state things like “And that is why we cosplay.” It really is.
   The first serious cosplay I did, I dressed up as a soldier from the video game Metro: 2033. When I was repeatedly asked to get my picture taken, it was such a good feeling that someone wanted to take my picture. For those few brief moments, I felt like a star. And the moment when people came running up to me, gushing and complimenting on how cool and amazing my cosplay was? Priceless. Ask any cosplayer on why they cosplay and I promise you it won’t be as weird or alien to you anymore.
   
   

There’s a lot of things that you and I don't understand. Things that we cannot wrap our minds around, or things that are strange or unfamiliar to us, and we tend do distance ourselves away and even mock these things. But given the chance to just try it out just once, maybe, just maybe, you will see the world in one more beautiful shade of color.