I understand that cosplay is something that many people are unfamiliar with, and the idea of wearing a costume is a much more familiar concept. But is cosplay really just wearing costumes? For me, it's much more than that.
The process of deciding which costume to wear is a personal one. For me, I pick characters that mean something to me. Either I see myself in them, or they're just a favorite from that series or game. All of my cosplays are from series and games that are among my absolute favorites or series that got me to think or evoked strong emotion from me. When I put on the costume, I feel like I'm stepping into the fictional world that I adore so much. It feels like I become a part of the thing that I love, and that is powerful. Instead of just engaging with the media from the outside, I have effectively become a part of it myself, other people can see and engage with as well.
Conventions are the best place to debut costumes and to meet other people who are interested in the media that you've chosen to wear on your body. You're essentially displaying one of your interests on your person and other people can flag you down and strike up a conversation about the media. The costume functions as a conversation starter and as a gateway for meeting people and possibly making new lifelong friends. Even if you don't become friends with someone, getting complimented on your costume and having your photo taken is a thrilling experience by itself. Knowing that someone snapped my photo in order to show their friends later on is something that makes me quite happy--even if they didn't stick around to chat. They appreciated what I was doing, and that's enough to make me feel excellent.
Cosplaying is a hobby, but for some it has become a lifestyle. Their money is dedicated fully to costume materials and convention plans and that's one way to participate. For others, it's a hobby that they maintain on top of their every day life. That's where I fall on the spectrum. Over the years, my roster of costumes has slowly expanded, and I try to debut a new one for each convention I go to, and I manage to pull that off considering I only go to two or three conventions per year. It's a hobby for me, but it's so much fun that I keep going back to it instead of completely dropping it and moving on. Planning for a convention is something that I look forward to and keep in the back of my mind all year long. As I've gotten older and begun to be more independent, conventions are moving up on the priority list because I can execute my plans myself now. In my teenage years, I relied on my parents and older friends to make the convention experience happen for me.
Being able to go to a convention completely of my own hard work is extremely satisfying and so much more invigorating. Knowing that I worked long hours to save up money and attend the convention makes the experience of walking the event floor in my new cosplay all the more exciting. Getting the opportunity to meet new people who like the same thing I do is a fruit of my own labor, and it's the most fun I have all year long.
