Have you ever wanted to dress up when it wasn’t Halloween? I know I have. I’ve felt that way since forever. I used to save old dance costumes or Halloween costumes for when I got bored so I could play dress-up, tried to get my mom to buy more than one Halloween costume, and I even put on my recital makeup to look like different characters from my favorite shows. Dressing up and acting as different characters has been a long time passion of mine but I had no outlet for it, so I did it when no one was around. But soon enough, that’s when I discovered cosplay, one of my favorite hobbies.
My journey to starting cosplay was watching videos of people dressing up as Gravity Falls characters online. I was shocked by the number of people dressing up outside the standard perimeters of the Halloween season. It was my greatest dream come true. People of all shapes, sizes and colors were dressing up as their favorite characters and were having lots of fun doing it. I wanted to do that too! 8-year-old me was ecstatic by the possibilities of this craft. I started practicing makeup more, tried different poses to cater to each character, started looking for costumes and wigs, and I even made a handwritten cosplan list. All I could think about was this cool new thing I discovered called cosplay.
Anyone can cosplay, whenever and however they please. You can experiment with makeup and embody different characters yourself. Cosplay can stretch to a multitude of medias worldwide and people love it. Cosplay may be a job for some and a hobby for others, but no matter what, they enjoy doing it. With the extensive amount of fandoms I was apart of and the shows I regularly watched, the possibilities were endless for me. By the end of this year I will have been cosplaying for 7 years. The art of cosplay has brought me great joy even though I still have a lot of characters I want to cosplay.
Cosplaying is easy, you can even cosplay straight out of your closet. That’s why it is a world-renowned activity. You can do it too! There are no major specifics to it, as long as you feel good with the character you chose to cosplay. Remember, cosplaying is about having fun and expressing yourself through the characters you like and the shows you enjoy. An entire community has been built up around dressing up as a hobby. The limitless amount of characters available to you, can show you that the sky’s the limit, so go for it.
I believe that this is a very special hobby that will introduce people to different types of content, different styles, meet people with similar interests, and overall have a good time! Some people may think it’s childish, but from a cosplayer’s perspective, it’s an art form. Any cosplayer would recommend cosplay and they’ll be happy to show you the ropes. So if you want to go be just like your favorite character, take pride in knowing that you are showing something you love and be sure to have fun!
Paige Randell
Francis W. Parker School – DMSF Class of 2026
Photo from Adobe Stock