(Evaluate a significant experience or achievement that has special meaning to you.)


“I reject your reality and substitute my own,” Adam Savage of Myth busters exclaims. While this is an odd thing to say, it stands out to be “my quote” in every aspect. Living my life by it, I break away from the norm and submerge myself in all things anime (Japanese cartooning). Books line my shelves and conventions (also known as “cons”) fill my weekends, with no end anywhere in sight.

My first con is a sea of confusion and a tsunami of color, all I can do is take a deep breath and dive in. I flow smoothly into the bright, warm waters of the con, an oasis in the cold autumn day of Colorado. Cosplayers (costume wearers) abound from wall to wall, and I manage to snap a few pictures before I make it to the registration desk. My world stops as I am handed my convention badge, emblazoned with an anime goddess draped with a golden kimono. I freeze on the spot, my gaze locked on that little slip of plastic as if the world would end the second I looked away. Pictures flash in every corner for cosplay poses as I aimlessly wander the hotel hallways towards the atrium.

One of only two shopping areas of the con, the atrium, a stunning indoor garden, lined with walls of balconies, hosts a menagerie of stands selling posters, shirts, buttons, and more. Across the room one can see a congregation of cosplay fanatics, bouncing and flopping their hands above their heads, mimicking fox ears, in tune with Japanese techno. Posters hang from the occupied balconies overhead as hundreds more coners gyrate to the beat.

Exploring the hotel, I come across a group of people dropping bits of their costumes off at a table with con staff. They’re going into the dealer’s room, and because it’s such a tight fit they have to take off their bigger segments of their costumes. I peer into the dimly lit room as they walk in and see an infinite selection of books, DVD’s, Replicas, and Japanese snacks. I go into slow motion as I realize what I had been missing all these years. I stumble into the endless flow of people, the stands of items the riverbank of this dark river.

While this experience doesn’t pertain to any specific field of study, it's who I am and I’m not going to lie about that. This convention lead me to a place that will likely help me reach out into what I want to become. Yes, I am energetic and eccentric, but that just shows my energy level in everything I do. With meticulous attention to detail, I never stop anything I do until it's perfect.