It was difficult to believe that five hours ago I had been scared out of mind. Never before had I seen such an overwhelming display of culture and a single beloved interest. It was difficult to believe because I was there and as soon as I had arrived it was the greatest place on earth. Even the most tropical of islands could not compare to the beauty and care with which each costume was stitched together piece by piece and with nothing but a sewing machine and a hand.

As I stood in the center of the crowd my eyes darted from each colorful costume to the next, each new curiosity tearing my eye from the last as I could not have known how many of these people I would recognize. There goes another Hallibel whose resemblance I bore, and there’s an Ichigo, Gundam, and Naruto. A whole gaggle of Johnny Depp’s different movie rolls walked by hand in hand, weaving their way through the crowded room in order to not lose track of each other. I looked up to see the giant Sakura Con banner swaying softly in the wind and am overcome with a sense of pride at the fact that I was a part of the festivities as well.

By then I’d seen and taken a photo of every one of my favorite characters except for one. On impulse I had looked down the elevator just in time to spot the black mop of hair that I knew belonged to my favorite character slowly bobbing its way up to the second floor. I rushed to the elevator, camera in hand and shoving my way past the stationary cosplayers in my way. One more picture before I left! I needed to get one last picture.