Hi, my name is Tara, and I refuse to
- as they say - "grow up".
Don't get me
wrong, I was well on my way there a few years ago. I guess that if
you looked at my life from the outside, knowing next to nothing about
me, you'd see that I have a Monday through Friday/nine to five job, a
home, a husband, a car, some pets...I pay my bills and live my life
as I suppose most people my age do.
You know, except
for the fact that several times a year I spend insane amounts of
money traveling to conventions. And at those conventions I wear
costumes that I've spent even more insane amounts of money - and
hours - putting together. I spend my time at those conventions
running around like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off -
often changing costumes at least once a day, getting about ten
percent the amount of sleep that I actually need, trekking from one
panel to another, and schlepping around dealer rooms spending -
that's right - insane amounts of money (that, let's not lie, I
probably shouldn't be spending).
My life wasn't
always like this, though. In fact, it all started not so long ago -
2010, to be exact - with Star Wars Celebration V. Celebration was
held in Orlando that year, and because I used to live there and had
several friends in the area I decided "what the hell, it's past
time I went to a convention". And why not Star Wars? I've been a
huge Star Wars fan since my dad first introduced me to the movies.
I've read all of the Zahn, Stackpole, and Anderson novels. I've
played the video games, and I was even able to throw together a quick
Juno Eclipse costume.
I suppose that
was the beginning of the end, for me. A single day at Celebration,
and I was hooked. Unfortunately, "real life" intervened in
2011, so next up was Dragon*Con 2012 - and with my limited con
experience, I never could have anticipated the sheer scope of one
that is attended by tens of thousands of people and basically takes
over downtown Atlanta for four days straight. It was overwhelming and
exhausting...and I had the time of my life. Some of the friends who I
met at D*C actually ended up being the people with whom I planned Ice
& Fire Con 2013, which, being a small single-genre convention,
was an entirely different animal that took over my life for the
better part of seven months.
During that time
period, I was also roped into attending MegaCon in Orlando. This year
it was very Star Trek-focused, though it did give me my first
celebrity experience. I met Michael Hogan - Colonel Tigh of BSG fame
- and I have to give him props for the simple fact that when I
approached him in my Starbuck costume, the first thing that he said
to me was "Why aren't you in the brig?"
Though MegaCon
didn't turn out to be my cup of con "tea", if you will,
that one moment - or really, the several minutes I spent in Michael
Hogan's presence - truly made the entire weekend worthwhile.
Once I returned
home, I again threw myself into Ice & Fire Con, which happened
just over a month after MegaCon. Ice and Fire Con was a perfect
weekend full of great Song of Ice & Fire/Game of Thrones
discussion and themed activities...and then, before the excitement
from that could even wear off, my involvement with it garnered me an
offer from the powers that be at MonsterCon in Greenville, South
Carolina - to help run the Song of Ice & Fire/Game of Thrones
"track", as well as attend as press.
And there you
have it - somehow I went from casual convention attendee to
full-blown convention participant and even organizer...in a
period of about two years. I've been re-learning how to sew; my
husband taught himself metal working...all in the name of cosplay. I
love that one morning I can be, say, Cersei Lannister from Game of
Thrones...and later that day, Bonnie MacFarlane from Red Dead
Redemption...then wake up the next morning for an Oz the Great &
Powerful photoshoot, and follow up with a comfortable costume
change into Starbuck from BSG.
If this is "not
growing up", then guys...I'm all for it.
Of course, I
also enjoy participating in the "serious" side of
conventions. I was on the Game of Thrones: Clash of Kings panel at
Dragon*Con last year, organized all of the discussion panels at Ice &
Fire Con this year, and am participating in Battlestar Galactica,
Song of ice & Fire, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars panels
at MonsterCon this summer.
All of this has
led to my
blog, Facebook, Tumblr,
Twitter,
and YouTube
channel becoming a hodgepodge of cosplay pictures,
video clips of panels, "commercials" for and updates on Ice
& Fire Con, and various other posts that I suppose make me look
the exact opposite of "grown up".
But the thing
is, doing these things - and attending these conventions - I've had
some of the best experiences of my life. I've met countless amazing
people and gained many talented, fun friends. My summer is shaping up
to be one of more convention planning and attending - you can find me
at MonsterCon in July and Dragon*Con in August, as well as out and
about on the web promoting Ice & Fire Con 2014 - and I'm looking
forward to and loving every minute of it!
At this point, I
can't imagine my life without the hectic planning and attending of
all these conventions. So if "growing up" means giving up
any of this - the costumes, the hours of discussion about the things
I love most, the ability to meet people who enjoy the same things -
well then, I just outright refuse to grow up.
Or maybe,
rather, I just prefer to have the option of balancing a regular old
life - the aforementioned job and home and husband and car and pets -
with prepping for and attending as many conventions a year as is
feasible.
And I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in
this :)
--
Tara
--
Tara
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/ageeksaga
Tumblr:
http://ageeksaga.tumblr.com
Ice & Fire
Con website: http://iceandfirecon.com
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