I love being miserable, sweaty, and sore. That is to say, I like to look cute while I do it; I’ve been cosplaying at conventions since I was a wee eighth grader. Of all my hobbies, I have to say that cosplay brings me the most joy and also, at other times, the most joy-killing anguish I’ve ever experienced. Every time I pull on a wig and 2-3 layers of the least breathable polyester fabric Amazon offers, it is an observational experiment in which I am both the curious anthropologist conducting it and the subject that did NOT read the full ad that brought them there.

I’ll start first with the first convention I ever attended: Dragoncon 2016. I had just broken my left foot not even a month before this, but I was still determined to cosplay with my brother and our friend. I was only prepared for the weather because I had spent most of my life in the South, having been born in North Carolina and being used to Georgia summers. Limping up and down Midtown Atlanta on crutches, one orthopedic shoe, and one high heel, I discovered how fun (and sweaty!) cosplay is. I think it’s a testament to my character that I did all that and still wanted to go the next year.

Thinking nothing of the sweltering Labor Day, urban heat island, Atlanta weather, the cosplays I planned for Dragoncon 2017 were D.Va from Overwatch, a Sailor Moon-Reaper Overwatch hybrid, and Mabel Pines from Gravity Falls. All of which had either long sleeves, long gloves, or tights involved. Suffice to say, 2017 was even more fun without a broken foot, so I decided I wanted to make conventions a regular thing.

My next convention turned Herculean trial was Anime Weekend Atlanta 2021. Newly a UGA student and free to do what I wanted with my time and money, my friends convinced me to go. This time, the weather was turned on my head; my cosplays involved short sleeves and skirts, but it was late October in Atlanta and a cold front moved in ahead of our arrival. And thus, AWA 2021 left me with the complete experience of braving the elements in weather-inappropriate clothing on both ends of the spectrum. Unsurprisingly, this convention is actually what got me seriously into cosplay, and I was much better prepared for the next conventions I attended.

As I mentioned briefly, I’m a sophomore at UGA majoring in Romance Languages. The best part about the UGA campus - as a cosplayer- is the sweltering summer weather and bowl-shape of central campus; I get free conditioning for conventions just by walking to class!