Journals17
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On achieving goals and appearances...
2 min read
So I'm not entirely sure anyone will actually read this, but I wanted to share my thoughts as I've been on this journey.
Cosplay has always been a hobby that I've enjoyed, because I have found some incredible friends through the community, and met some really fun people. But in the five years that I've been out of touch with it, I've noticed a lot of changes. Vanity seems to have grown pretty prominent with how accurate someone's able to portray a character, and though people have this "nice factor" they elicit to cosplayers' faces, behind their backs is where I've seen the most criticism.
That being said, I've delayed my return to the cosplay community because I've been overcoming the heavy and exhausting monster of depression. In the wake of losing my mom a couple of years ago, I gained a lot more weight than I'm comfortable really talking about. 2018 was spent re-establishing healthy habits and creating a more active lifestyle for me to begin the long process of shedding the depression weight that I'd gained.
My question that I want to ask here is this: Is it so wrong to want to lose weight to cosplay? Are people truly so critical that they'll judge someone based on their appearance in costume? Perfection exists, or something damn near close to it, but should that be something that I allow to stand in my way of doing what I love?
Its not a rhetorical question, I very much would like your thoughts and any feedback that you feel comfortable sharing.
Thank you in advance! ^_^
Cosplay has always been a hobby that I've enjoyed, because I have found some incredible friends through the community, and met some really fun people. But in the five years that I've been out of touch with it, I've noticed a lot of changes. Vanity seems to have grown pretty prominent with how accurate someone's able to portray a character, and though people have this "nice factor" they elicit to cosplayers' faces, behind their backs is where I've seen the most criticism.
That being said, I've delayed my return to the cosplay community because I've been overcoming the heavy and exhausting monster of depression. In the wake of losing my mom a couple of years ago, I gained a lot more weight than I'm comfortable really talking about. 2018 was spent re-establishing healthy habits and creating a more active lifestyle for me to begin the long process of shedding the depression weight that I'd gained.
My question that I want to ask here is this: Is it so wrong to want to lose weight to cosplay? Are people truly so critical that they'll judge someone based on their appearance in costume? Perfection exists, or something damn near close to it, but should that be something that I allow to stand in my way of doing what I love?
Its not a rhetorical question, I very much would like your thoughts and any feedback that you feel comfortable sharing.
Thank you in advance! ^_^
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2018 At a glance...
3 min read
This year has been quite the year for me! It started out kind of rough, only because I was working in the legal field, forcing myself to conform to the box that I thought that I needed to be in. It was an arena that I'd gone to school for, double-majored in, and had studied my ass off to achieve. But once graduation got here and I started working, I realized just how miserable and unhappy I was.
So...I quit.
My stress levels dropped enormously, and I started doing small things that made me happy again. Like playing video games, listening to music, and contemplating going back to school for something completely different. I got a job working in hospitality, and within just a couple of months, was promoted to a supervising position. I've taken time for myself this year, traveling abroad, finding and learning more of my family history (I'm Irish, everyone!) hitting the gym, discovering a new form of fitness that I honestly didn't think I'd be cut out for, and I even went BLONDE.
And you know what? I realized that I was gradually gaining my confidence back. Something that I had lost along the treacherous and miserable journey of taking care of my mom while she battled, and then later lost her fight to cancer. I think the depression stage lasted all the way through my college graduation, because it wasn't until THIS YEAR that I started to really feel like myself again.
So while I'm not where I want to be physically, I'm working hard to exercise and shred the depression weight that I'd gained over the last couple of years. My goal is to get about ten pounds more than my competitive weight because I'm no longer a gymnast, but I want to just simply be HEALTHY.
I'm working on getting my craft room established and set up, so that going into 2019, I can start working hard for cosplay again.
If you've been following me, I really appreciate your love and support! This journey certainly hasn't been easy, but I know once I make it through the woods I'm going to feel so amazing.
So...I quit.
My stress levels dropped enormously, and I started doing small things that made me happy again. Like playing video games, listening to music, and contemplating going back to school for something completely different. I got a job working in hospitality, and within just a couple of months, was promoted to a supervising position. I've taken time for myself this year, traveling abroad, finding and learning more of my family history (I'm Irish, everyone!) hitting the gym, discovering a new form of fitness that I honestly didn't think I'd be cut out for, and I even went BLONDE.
And you know what? I realized that I was gradually gaining my confidence back. Something that I had lost along the treacherous and miserable journey of taking care of my mom while she battled, and then later lost her fight to cancer. I think the depression stage lasted all the way through my college graduation, because it wasn't until THIS YEAR that I started to really feel like myself again.
So while I'm not where I want to be physically, I'm working hard to exercise and shred the depression weight that I'd gained over the last couple of years. My goal is to get about ten pounds more than my competitive weight because I'm no longer a gymnast, but I want to just simply be HEALTHY.
I'm working on getting my craft room established and set up, so that going into 2019, I can start working hard for cosplay again.
If you've been following me, I really appreciate your love and support! This journey certainly hasn't been easy, but I know once I make it through the woods I'm going to feel so amazing.
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So it begins...
2 min read
Hi everyone!
I'm officially a college graduate. YAY! It's barely been a week since I walked across that stage, and it hasn't quite hit me yet. I spent nine and a half years obtaining two Bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Sociology. While it was enlightening in some ways, it was stressful in a lot of others. I had to take an extended break from cosplay after my mom got sick a few years ago, and then college became my life.
Now that I'm done though, I'm going to be gradually getting back into this wonderful hobby I loved so much. I'll be starting out with quite a herculean endeavor (because that's just how I do things, lol) I won't reveal what characters they are, but my other half and I have decided upon doing costumes from Magic: The Gathering.
As someone who will be completely self-taught in the armor making department, do any of you have suggestions on what materials to start experimenting with for the most ideal results? I don't mind spending money on supplies, but from the research that I've done so far, it seems that worbla is the most popular to utilize for armor. Do any of you have thoughts and/or feedback on this?
I'm so excited to get started! It will be SO nice to be using my sewing machine again and my embroidery machine for much more than just making Greek sorority lettered shirts, lol!
Stay amazing! <3
Love,
GN
I'm officially a college graduate. YAY! It's barely been a week since I walked across that stage, and it hasn't quite hit me yet. I spent nine and a half years obtaining two Bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Sociology. While it was enlightening in some ways, it was stressful in a lot of others. I had to take an extended break from cosplay after my mom got sick a few years ago, and then college became my life.
Now that I'm done though, I'm going to be gradually getting back into this wonderful hobby I loved so much. I'll be starting out with quite a herculean endeavor (because that's just how I do things, lol) I won't reveal what characters they are, but my other half and I have decided upon doing costumes from Magic: The Gathering.
As someone who will be completely self-taught in the armor making department, do any of you have suggestions on what materials to start experimenting with for the most ideal results? I don't mind spending money on supplies, but from the research that I've done so far, it seems that worbla is the most popular to utilize for armor. Do any of you have thoughts and/or feedback on this?
I'm so excited to get started! It will be SO nice to be using my sewing machine again and my embroidery machine for much more than just making Greek sorority lettered shirts, lol!
Stay amazing! <3
Love,
GN
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Humanity awakens...
3 min read
I gotta be honest about something for a second.
I've been seeing so much division in the wake of the United States' presidential election last November, and it's carried through the holiday season into the new year. Our media is absolutely saturated with left and right wing reporters, all of whom spin the news just to get ratings, rather than telling the truth and reporting on facts.
Social media has blown up to a point where political platforms and soap boxes have become the new "it" thing. And all for what? To prove a point? To showcase how different we all are? To exemplify that if you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything? To give the world yet another reason to dislike all Americans?
I've gotten overly saturated, I suppose. I've thought about just taking a nice long break from social media for a while.
But then I hop onto DA for the first time in literally months. I open my page up to thousands of notifications telling me just how creative and incredible people are on here. How art is celebrated, and not politicized. People come together over the things that they love, and enjoy, and there's no hatred behind any of it. No political agendas being driven by unchecked bloggers and overzealous lobbyists creating cess pools of hate. None of it.
Instead I see people favoriting and commenting on costumes, photography, digital art, sketches, and writing. Forms of art that are all so different, yet share similar traits. Everything is backed by the passion that we all share here, and the love that we have found for different cultures through art. This is the kind of stuff that I want to see more of on a daily basis. Because it makes my heart happy, to see humanity coming together for another purpose other than to protest a political agenda, or to cry out at the injustice of an action taken by a political leader...all things that we have absolutely no control over.
I wanted to share a little piece of my mind and heart with you all, and to tell whoever is reading this silly little journal post that I'm thankful for you.
Yes.
YOU.
I may not know your name or have ever met you in person, but I am thankful to have found a way to connect with you. A way that is positive, uplifting, and happy. So please do me a favor, and keep being amazing. Keep posting breathtaking photos, incredible cosplay, talented digital art, AMAZING sketches, and BOSS AF writing! Because these are all creative things that connect us all together as humans. Our love and our passion transcends political identity/affiliation, national boundaries, our race and ethnic backgrounds, our religious and spiritual choices, and our places of birth.
Always remember you beautiful people, that through the dark times, you always have the capacity to find the good in others.
*hugs*
I've been seeing so much division in the wake of the United States' presidential election last November, and it's carried through the holiday season into the new year. Our media is absolutely saturated with left and right wing reporters, all of whom spin the news just to get ratings, rather than telling the truth and reporting on facts.
Social media has blown up to a point where political platforms and soap boxes have become the new "it" thing. And all for what? To prove a point? To showcase how different we all are? To exemplify that if you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything? To give the world yet another reason to dislike all Americans?
I've gotten overly saturated, I suppose. I've thought about just taking a nice long break from social media for a while.
But then I hop onto DA for the first time in literally months. I open my page up to thousands of notifications telling me just how creative and incredible people are on here. How art is celebrated, and not politicized. People come together over the things that they love, and enjoy, and there's no hatred behind any of it. No political agendas being driven by unchecked bloggers and overzealous lobbyists creating cess pools of hate. None of it.
Instead I see people favoriting and commenting on costumes, photography, digital art, sketches, and writing. Forms of art that are all so different, yet share similar traits. Everything is backed by the passion that we all share here, and the love that we have found for different cultures through art. This is the kind of stuff that I want to see more of on a daily basis. Because it makes my heart happy, to see humanity coming together for another purpose other than to protest a political agenda, or to cry out at the injustice of an action taken by a political leader...all things that we have absolutely no control over.
I wanted to share a little piece of my mind and heart with you all, and to tell whoever is reading this silly little journal post that I'm thankful for you.
Yes.
YOU.
I may not know your name or have ever met you in person, but I am thankful to have found a way to connect with you. A way that is positive, uplifting, and happy. So please do me a favor, and keep being amazing. Keep posting breathtaking photos, incredible cosplay, talented digital art, AMAZING sketches, and BOSS AF writing! Because these are all creative things that connect us all together as humans. Our love and our passion transcends political identity/affiliation, national boundaries, our race and ethnic backgrounds, our religious and spiritual choices, and our places of birth.
Always remember you beautiful people, that through the dark times, you always have the capacity to find the good in others.
*hugs*
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2014 on the horizon!
2 min read
Well, with at least ONE costuming goal accomplished for this year I am content. ^_^
Jaina came out much better than I'd hoped! She needs a little tweaking and perhaps it is time for a new lightsaber (Seriously I've been using the same one since 2007, haha!) but other than that she is a goal I have, after nearly SEVEN years, finally accomplished!
Looking ahead to 2014, my man and I have locked down our costuming line up! We've got something pretty freaking EPIC planned, and this time...we're serious. Already sent off the information we need to our commissioner. This is the first time in my entire costuming career that I have ever commissioned a costume, and TBH I'm a little nervous. But this guy we're commissioning is really good, and I'm super excited. ^_^
So far it's looking like we're staying local in Atlanta again next year. I was trying to convince my guy to check out Anime Boston with me, because I really have been missing my old stomping ground. But time and money are two commodities that are always going to be against us.
I'm thankful for all of you guys' support throughout my costuming endeavors! Loving the feedback on my Jaina costume too! I'm so freaking proud of that flightsuit! I made every single piece by hand, completely drafted without a pattern, and it took be about three weeks to sew together. Fun fact? The pockets were my favorite part!
MTFBWY and hope you guys have a Merry Christmas!
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