People in the geek circles, and even many outside it, know of “Comic-Con.” The one everyone thinks of when hearing that is San Diego Comic-Con, the largest comic convention. But there are many others, even one right here in the greater D.C. area. It's called Awesome Con.

This weekend was Awesome Con 2016, a gathering of all nerds and geeks with interests anywhere from book writing, to comics, to gaming (video games and table tops), to Sci-Fi and Fantasy. Even a fair amount of Disney was represented.

I am a geek. I like being a geek. I love comics, I love sci-fi, I love fantasy, I love gaming. The Hawkeyes are my favorite superheroes. Nightcrawler is a close third. But the one thing I had never done was attend a convention (I’ve also never cosplayed, but I’m doing that next year).

I had really very little idea of what was going to be my experience before it happened. I knew I wanted to go months ago and got my parents onboard early. I knew there would be celebrities there, including Elizabeth Henstridge and Summer Glau. I also knew I would need money because I thought I might find a poster, maybe.

I set aside money to meet those two celebrities I mentioned. I planned out which talks I wanted to attend. I was ready.

Hah, no. No I wasn’t. Especially when I got sick the day before. But there’s no rest for those going to a convention!

I pulled myself together and went downtown via metro to Awesome Con at noon on Friday. I had a talk I wanted to attend starting at 1:15 all about writing short stories. I went straight there and waited for it. Great talk, by the way. Matthew Bowman gave several pointers that made going totally worth my while.

After the talk, I went to find my brother down in the Exhibit Hall. Holy. Cow.

The Exhibit Hall floored me. There were so many cosplayers that I had fun just watching them and guessing the characters. There were little shops where my crazy geek heart went wild. I had no idea there would be that many stalls for shopping, and I hadn’t even reached the Artist Alley yet.

I was smart, however, and had limited the money I brought to cash, and only decided to bring a portion of my paycheck for the week. This meant I couldn’t really buy anything, which was fine. I got to scope out the whole Exhibit Hall between the Matthew Bowman talk and the next talk I would be attending: Wes Johnson’s Q&A.

Wes Johnson is well known to Caps fans in the Greater D.C. area because he does the in-game announcing for Capitals hockey games. But he also is a video game voice actor for many games I love, including "Oblivion," "Skyrim," and "Fallout 3." His talk was incredible and I couldn’t wait to get him to sign my copy of "Oblivion" and a Caps poster the next day.

We ended up going home soon after the talk as it ended at 5. But there was nothing but excitement in my mind as I left for home, ready with the three-for-$25 posters I had bought (Link, Nightcrawler, and Hawkeye) and excited to return the next day.

I decided in that moment that meeting celebrities just wasn’t that cool when I could spend the same amount of money they would cost buying incredible artwork (and an ocarina). Nevertheless, I helped my dad get his stuff signed by Karl Urban (who we both love as Eomer in "The Lord of the Rings" franchise). Besides, the Summer Glau line was far too long even at opening.

I skipped all the talks I was going to attend because A) I was feeling somewhat sick, and B) shopping was so much cooler. I came away with seven posters/prints, an Ocarina of Time, a signed copy of "Oblivion," two signed comics by Skottie Young, and a plush Clint Barton (Hawkeye). I call that a successful day.

Going into Awesome Con, I was somewhat hesitant because I wasn’t sure how…crazy…people would be. But everyone was incredibly kind and wonderful. Cosplayers would pose for pictures with people, and artists loved discussing their work and take suggestions for future pieces. It was truly Awesome.

Next year, when I go back, I’m going to cosplay. I may not have the body of a superhero, but damn it, I’m gonna be one. Because no one cares. It’s about doing what you love, with people you love, surrounded by other people who love it too.

Go to a Con. I can’t recommend it enough. If you like "Star Wars," "Star Trek," "Doctor Who," "Anime," "Lord of the Rings," Marvel, DC, Magic: The Gathering, go! You won’t regret it.

Just don’t bring a credit card.