Post Cosplay Life: 6 Months Later

Greetings, Vocal readers. I've been extremely busy for the last six months and having a positive outlook on life. I'll keep everyone up to speed on what I've been up to. In October 2024, I retired from cosplay after 10 wonderful years doing this amazing craft. I enjoyed attending conventions, hanging out with my friends, and meeting new people. Don't get me wrong. I loved doing cosplay and I'll always remember the good times I've had doing it. While I'll forever be tied to the cosplay community, I felt like 10 years was enough and wanted to explore new interests. This isn't a new interest, but I wanted to focus more on my writing, which I'm doing right now. I work a regular job and write stories on Vocal on the side. Did I regret walking away from cosplay for good? The answer is no. Once again, I loved doing cosplay and meeting people at cons. I'm also fortunate to have met other cosplayers online and got along with many of them. I still follow some of those cosplayers today and respect them. I'll have a link down below on what my final con appearance was like, plus a letter to my fellow cosplayers.

I thought that walking away from cosplay was a necessary move for me, because I wanted to preserve my mental health. In 2022, my beloved grandfather passed away and was the only relative that I was very close with. The last time I saw him was nearly 15 years prior to his death when he came to visit us. I was living in Texas at the time, which is where I'm originally from. I was devastated over his loss, but I'll always remember the good times I've had with him. Before this tragedy, I was dealing with constant loneliness and depression, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I couldn't attend any conventions, even though I attended a local convention a month before the pandemic took effect. I've been suffering from mental health issues for over a decade and had a few suicide attempts, because of the pandemic. However, during the lockdown, I started creating cosplay videos on TikTok to have something to do. I had a moderate following on there and I loved doing them.

I only attended two conventions in 2024. On St. Patrick's Day of that year, I announced on TikTok that I was retiring from cosplay by the end of October. Once I posted that on my other social media pages, many cosplayers were supportive of my decision and wished me the best. They understood my reasons behind it. In August, I planned my final cosplay because I wanted to end my decade-long cosplay journey on a high note. The cosplay that I ended up doing for a con I was going to attend that October was Reggie Jackson. If you aren't familiar with who he is, he was a 14-time All-Star, won five World Series titles with five different teams, and is a Baseball Hall of Famer. I also had a World Series trophy made by one of my friends. I debuted this cosplay in September, one month before I attended my final convention. I'll have a link to a DIY on how I went as this legendary player down below. I also did this cosplay at work and won first place in our annual Halloween costume contest.

If there was one word to describe my cosplay journey, it would be eventful. I look back at my old cosplay videos and photos, reminiscing on how much fun I had. Life after cosplay feels good, to be honest. I might pop up at a convention in my area, whenever I'm free. As I discover new hobbies and interests, I'm also focusing on the hobbies I'm currently doing, such as writing stories on Vocal. Since 2018, I've been a creator for this amazing platform and with almost 300 stories under my belt, I like writing personal stories and stories about topics that might be relatable to people. I like to keep people in the know of what's going on in this country, especially when it comes to social issues. I'll always love cosplay, but being a former cosplayer and enjoying life is more rewarding.

If you loved this story, like this story and leave your thoughts in the comments below. Please follow me on my socials. Finally, please send me a one-off tip at the end of this story to support my work as I continue to write and publish more stories.

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