Wesley's 2024 Year in Review

2024 has been full of ups and downs for yours truly. However, as this year comes to a close, all that we can hope for is that 2025 will treat us kindly. In my final story of 2024, I'll be highlighting several important stories I've written. Before I begin with that, I want to remind everyone that to please send me a one-off tip, big or small, at the end of this story. They'll support creators like me to bring you the stories and poems that we'd want to share. Let's end this year on a high note and finally, please follow me on social media. The information to my pages will be found in my profile. Without further ado, let's get started.

A New Record!

42: this represents the number of stories I've written in 2024. I've greatly surpassed my goal from 2023. My goal in 2025 is to write 50 stories. It might be a longshot, but it doesn't mean that it's not doable. We'll never know.

NWA Comic Con

I kicked off January 2024 by attending Northwest Arkansas Comic Con in Rogers. This was the first of my final two con appearances as a cosplayer. I'll explain the "final" part stated in the previous sentence later on in this story. As you can see, I wore my Miles Morales Across The Spider-Verse suit, posing for a pic with another Spider-Man cosplayer. It was also great to see two of my cosplay friends again. I hadn't seen them since late 2022 at a convention in Hot Springs. Just to note that it was very cold that day, so I wore a jacket when I arrived inside the convention center. I'm not fond of cold weather, whatsoever. Other than that, I enjoyed myself at the event.

My very first baseball jersey

Mid-February: Before the 2024 MLB regular season began, I bought not one, but two Texas Rangers jerseys. The first one that arrived to me was a Texas Rangers World Series Champions Max Scherzer jersey. I've bought this on sale in the early morning hours of Valentine's Day. I've received it a few days later. The moment that I tried it on, I was so excited that it looked amazing on me. Along with my Rangers Cooperstown hat, these two items were a perfect match. Despite me being a die-hard Rangers fan for almost 25 years, I've never had a baseball jersey. I've been to a Rangers game when I was 13. The year was 2001, shortly after the events of 9/11 made the world stand still. After the Rangers won their first ever World Series title in 2023, one of the first things that I was going to buy was a jersey and I did just that. I wore my Max Scherzer jersey the following month for Opening Day. Out of all the players, why Max Scherzer, you ask? For starters, he's a future first ballot Hall of Famer. Second, he's an 8-time All-Star. Not only that, but a 3-time Cy Young Award winner and last but not least, a 2-time World Series Champion. His first one was from his time with the Washington Nationals in 2019 and the other was with the Rangers. Oh and he's returning for his 17th MLB season in 2025. I encourage everyone to watch videos of him on YouTube. He's a beast every time he's on the mound. I'll post a link below of a compilation video. It'll be worth your time. They don't call him Mad Max for nothing.

https://youtu.be/Zeg9-xPuZgQ?si=ebQD9zYbUhB8awQU

Dream Cosplay #1

In March 2024, I debuted my first cosplay of the year. I've wanted to do this specific cosplay for a while but never got around to it. Almost a month before Jackie Robinson Day, I went as one of my favorite baseball idols: number 42 himself. This was also the first time I've cosplayed as a baseball player. I would later post a video on TikTok, paying tribute to a man who paved the way for other baseball players from different nationalities and minorities to play this great game. Check out that video in the link below.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8N99aM7/

A Super Final Curtain Call

The first Saturday in May every year, an event called Free Comic Book Day arrives. Since its inception back in 2002, over 2,000 comic book stores participate in this event in order to attract new readers into their stores. As the name implies, you can receive a certain amount of free comic books. Also, you have the option to purchase any comic books you want. I dressed up as Superman, posing with a Superman comic. This was my final Free Comic Book Day appearance I would make as a cosplayer. I'm still going to attend this event every year, if I'm free, but not in costume. If you're a comic book nerd, this event is for you.

200 Stories on Vocal

I reached an important milestone this year. I've written 200 stories on this wonderful platform. In honor of this accomplishment, I wrote a story about the time I threw the first pitch at a Northwest Arkansas Naturals baseball game. The Naturals are a AA affiliate of Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals. I had a fantastic time doing it and an honor for this wonderful opportunity. You can read the full story down below, and also, I'll provide two links of my first pitch from two different angles.

https://youtube.com/shorts/rqmnih4yffk?si=2MC51Ahl40z0vFWp

https://youtube.com/shorts/bk0sGndc6Mk?si=v3-F6U9GTwswQo5I

https://shopping-feedback.today/humans/the-greatest-opportunity-of-a-lifetime%3C/a%3E

Harrison, The Terrible

The month of May means only one thing: graduation. Millions of people are moving on to the next phase of their lives and pursuing their goals and ambitions. Unfortunately, there was one NFL player that made many people angry. Let me introduce or rather reintroduce you to Kansas City Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker. If you're not a fan of football or sports in general, you're forgiven. I'm not a Chiefs fan, but this story in particular that I'm about to share infuriated me. Harrison Butker was invited to give a commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. During his speech, which lasted for 20 minutes, the three-time Super Bowl Champion spoke on a range of topics: from the roles of women to attacking Pride Month. Basically, airing his personal grievances instead of giving the graduates in attendance words of wisdom. Once the video went viral, he faced a lot of backlash. Celebrities, female reporters, and regular people online had something to say about his remarks, which they described as misogynistic and bigoted. After the first two to three minutes of his speech, I had to stop watching. He was so condescending and also a hypocrite. I gave my two cents about Harrison in two separate stories, which you can read below, checking him. I had so much to say about him.

https://shopping-feedback.today/theSwamp/my-thoughts-about-harrison-butker-s-commencement-speech%3C/a%3E

https://shopping-feedback.today/humans/more-thoughts-about-harrison-butker%3C/a%3E

10 Years of Cosplay Awesomeness

On August 1, I celebrated 10 years as a cosplayer. I thought I'd never reach this milestone, because I considered quitting cosplay several times, especially during the early days of the pandemic. It was because some conventions went on as planned (with safety protocols) or canceled until the following year. I was scheduled to attend a con as a cosplay guest in my area, but due to me recently moving to a new town and other circumstances, I had to politely decline the invite. My health and keeping myself safe were my two biggest priorities at the time. Getting back to the cosplay anniversary. I had done over three dozen cosplays, with some I've debuted at cons. Speaking of cosplays, this leads me to my final moment...

That's All Folks!

I saved this moment from 2024 for last, because it's one that everyone should know about. After 10 years of cosplay, memories, and fun, along with two cosplay contest wins, this guy was retiring from the craft he loved so much. Why did I decide to retire from cosplay? There were many factors that played a factor in this decision, but the two reasons are the death of my grandfather in 2022 and wanting to seek other hobbies. It's been a decade filled with fun, and I'll never forget the friends I've made at these conventions and the fun that we had. For my final cosplay, I wanted this cosplay to be very special. This cosplay was Reggie Jackson: the five- time World Series Champion, 14-time All-Star, and National Baseball Hall of Famer. It took me a month to put this cosplay together. Plus, I've added an important accessory: a World Series trophy. This 3-D printed masterpiece was created by my longtime cosplay craftsman and I was amazed by how great it looked. I didn't receive this accessory from him until the day of the con. I'll have a link below to a DIY for you to check out.

https://shopping-feedback.today/lifehack/reggie-jackson-cosplay-diy%3C/a%3E

As for the con itself, on the morning of October 27, I attended BentonvilleCon in Bentoville, Arkansas. I entered into the venue with emotion, excitement, amd sadness. It was because it was the final time I'd stepped foot at a con as a cosplayer. It was a one-day event with pop culture vendors, cosplays, and so much more. It was a smaller con, but I wanted to close out my cosplay journey on a positive note. I was even interviewed by a local news station, discussing my final con appearance and what being a cosplayer meant to me. You can read the full story by going to the link below.

https://shopping-feedback.today/geeks/the-end-of-a-cosplay-era%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cfigure class="css-drbim6-Image">

When I arrived home from attending my final convention, I posted this pic of me with my trophy in hand on Instagram. I added a heartfelt message to those who have supported me over the past decade and I showed my appreciation to them. The day after the event, I wrote an open letter on Instagram to my fellow cosplayers, thanking them for their support of me. You can read that letter by also going to the aforementioned link, as well as the fun I had at the convention.

Before I conclude this story, you may have recognized that I used a different name to highlight my most important stories of the year. Even though my name is Mark, which I keep for personal reasons on Vocal and for other situations, I've been going by my middle name since towards the end of 2022. The reason for this is because I wanted to become my own person and distance myself from my toxic family. So, from here on out, I'd like to be addressed by my middle name, especially in conversation.

I want to thank everyone at Vocal for supporting me throughout the years, allowing me to express myself through writing. Finally, I want to thank you, the reader and my loyal subscribers for reading my stories. I appreciate the wonderful comments I've received and it only encourages me keep writing more stories. If you have a story or topic you want me to discuss, whether it's reviewing a movie or product, please leave your suggestions in the comments below. Everything is on the table, so anything you want me to talk about, I can do that.

Let's make 2025 a year full of goals, aspirations, and fulfillment.