TylerTouchdown

Hello, my Lovelies. 

I apologize for the lack of updates on here since I have been more focused on my FB page. I am making this same post on there as well and I decided to the same here for people who still haven't gotten on the Facebook train yet.

I am currently preparing for ScrewAttack Gaming Convention. This is my favorite convention overall. My cosplay lineup includes three repeats and a new one. The repeats are Leon from "Resident Evil", Cole from "inFAMOUS", and Bunroku (Ninja Kyle) from "South Park". The new one will be Strider Hiryu. I have planned him for years and it is time to follow through. Expect progress shots in the following weeks.

What I am very happy about SGC is the fact I won't be doing any of these alone for once. This is going to be the first time I have ever had partners with every single character I bring. That has never happened before. Once this con is over, I will have a costume event to attend in Tulsa during August. 

After that, I am taking a short hiatus. For the first time, I am passing over AnimeFest. I regret to inform people this since I have been going to that one five years in a row and I always enjoyed it. I also still can't make a few I have wanted to for some time like DragonCon. That will happen one year though. I was also trying for BGS in Brazil this year since I wanted to try and have the international experience for once. I sadly can’t do so now due to lack of funds. I did have my head very set on it this year, but I can’t make it work now. That trip will happen next year for sure. I'll be going back to Izumicon again and I might try Ikki-Con for once. We'll see what happens. 

Either way after SGC, I want to focus on other things in life for a bit. I have a few personal things to sort out. It is getting taken care of and life has been looking up more than ever. I was in a dark place a few years ago, but recent times have been much better for me. I have done more traveling than I ever did before and met people I never would have thought I would. I have gained more friends than I have ever had before and lots of support I never would have thought possible. Sometimes at conventions, I hear from others I am a really popular. To be honest, fame really doesn’t mean anything to me. I have spent years training myself to be a selfless and humble person and to simply be grateful for what I got. I sadly have seen lots of people in the cosplay world change in the past few years to the point where it is all a popularity contest to them. It actually breaks my heart to see such a thing and I will never be like that. I never want success to go to my head to where I am pretty much acting like a diva. I swear to myself that will never happen. I also have become tired of the mainstream attention it has gotten over the years where it seems to now be about current fads. Some state it is no longer about the craftsmanship, but about how many likes you have on social networks. That is not the way it should be. For this guy, it won't be. Cosplay will never be for money or fame for me. It's empty baggage. Most people go insane trying so hard to get that.

So why do I cosplay? 

Four big reasons.

1. Acting. I am a classically trained stage actor. I have been in many plays in the past 10 years.  I take the same approach to with this. Besides making myself look like another character, I always spend time looking at references of these characters in all forms of media and studying their mannerisms. For me, creating and being these characters are the roles of a lifetime.

2. For memories. I do this to simply say I did it. I will admit I have had a few bad experiences with this due to drama. It does suck, but it happens to all of us. We all take a beating now and then. We just got to keep going. Thankfully, good memories outweigh the bad ones. The more recent ventures I gone on have brought some of the best memories I have had with this. In my local community, which is pretty small, I have lots of people around come over to me saying I have some of the best stories to tell. This is also something to look forward to. I love being a storyteller and I always manage to tell some of my best ones from this.

3. Friends. The truth is I didn't have many friends prior to this. I was always a shut-in due to living in small areas with no one to relate to and I use to suffer from social anxiety. Being in plays helped me fight that off a little, but not much. When I started cosplaying at conventions in 2009, it felt overwhelming at first. Then I started socializing more and finding lots of people I can relate to. In the past six years, I have gained more friends than I ever had and I am so grateful to actually become friends with nice, cool, supportive, and talented people. I love traveling simply for the chance to see all of them again. My friend’s pages are tagged in this and I thank you guys for sticking with me through thick and thin and for helping me become better than I ever was. Anybody who reads this, check out the pages from my friends and please support them like you have done so for me



4. The big reason. Fun. I mainly do this for my own personal amusement. I will never view cosplaying as a career path. I like to think I am better than that. This is supposed to be for the fun factor. The day it no longer becomes fun is the day I stop. It’s as simple as that. 

Well, this is all I have to say for now. I have got to get back to focusing on my outfits for SGC. If anybody is attending, feel free to say hello to me there.

Thank you all for the support you have given me and take care of yourselves, my Lovelies.