The internet defines cosplay as "a contraction of the words costume and role-play... a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character... Any entity that lends itself to dramatic interpretation may be taken up as a subject and it is not unusual to see genders switched. Favorite sources include manga and anime, comic books and cartoons, video games, and live-action films and television series." While cosplay is placed under this blanket definition, it has a much more in depth, personal and meaningful definition to each person you ask.

There are multiple reasons why people could get into cosplay. Whether it be for hobby related endeavors or even if it's your job, there are many factors to motivate you towards the life of cosplaying. One thing that everything you do should revolve around is fun, which just so happens to be a category cosplay falls into. There is also a social aspect to cosplay that many people overlook. While you can see it as going to a con and spotting cool cosplays, you can also get up close and make some really great friends! Something else that may catch your interest with cosplay is dressing up. Why let the kids on Halloween have all the fun? You can take cosplay out all year round. Two things that I have found very common in reasons people cosplay is for the creativity and imagination put into each and every cosplay. You could be staring down this insane full set of armor you have to build or you could be taking on the adventurous option of an original character (all the more creativity and imagination!). And don't forget, with cosplay comes variety. You are never bound to just one show or just one book, you always have a freedom to cosplay as whatever you please. A close second in the best reasons to cosplay is that it can be your escape. Escape from stresses that hold you down in tough times, but just keep in mind that you do still have life responsibilities.

Curious of what some cosplayers had to say on the matter, I took it upon myself to interview a few. I covered a span from beginners to more experienced cosplayers and just as I mentioned before, their answers were all unique.

The first person interviewed was 20 year old Holly, also known as MissBirb. Holly has been cosplaying for a total of 7 years and has gone to conventions such as Zenkaikon, AnimeNEXT, Dragoncon, Kotoricon, Saikoucon, Philly Comic Con, Katsucon, Otakon, and J-1 Con. When asked to sum up the experience gotten from cosplay she answered, "cosplaying has become so much more than a hobby and the passion I've nurtured for it will continue to grow." Based off of this answer I was intrigued and proceeded to ask the most memorable moment thanks to cosplay and also how exactly Holly got started in the craft. The heartfelt response I was given goes as follows, "I always think back to my Disney and DC Comics related costumes and how kids reacted to them. Memories of kids seeing me as their heroes will always be the most memorable to me... Halloween was a big started for me. My first cosplay was L from Death Note and it was for Halloween. When I noticed no one knew who I was, I ended up getting curious about anime costuming. After kid-me looked up all this fun stuff on google, I found conventions. A big peak in my interest came from the Canadian cosplay group Fighting Dreamers Pro. At the time they were the most prominent cosplay-YouTube presence." After asking Holly about her cosplay life I interviewed another person who I just so happened to have become very close to over the past few years.

The next person I interviewed was 22 year old DolorasarioCosplays, member of hashtagprofessionals, who has been cosplaying for the span of just about 4 years now. When asked about one big lesson learned from cosplaying she answered "don't sweat the little things. So your wig didn't end up looking the way you wanted? You couldn't find a perfectly matching fabric for your scarf? That's okay. As someone who is super detail-oriented this is very hard for me sometimes, but over time I've learned my limitations in terms of how detailed I can get with a cosplay given the time and resources I am working with. I try to find different ways to get the same effect (like using marine vinyl to make scale armor rather than buying expensive metal scales) or just recognize that this one small part won't exactly match canon. It's helped to relieve some of the stress that I sometimes deal with with while pulling a costume together." When asked for a piece of advice to someone new to cosplay Dolorasario replied, "while a lot of fun, cosplay is a bit of a marathon physically and mentally and it is important for you to understand your own limits. If you over heat easily, wearing a black bodysuit in the middle of the summer might not be the best idea; or if you get really uncomfortable with wigs, try finding characters that have similar hair to yours. This also includes knowing when you need to eat, drink, take a rest, or decompress away from a crowd. You need to take care of yourself first and foremost." From here, she proceeded to tell me about the most memorable things for her. "Oh God... I feel like most of my memories that resulted because of cosplay are super memorable. All the people I've met, the bonding with all my friends, but I guess one of the most memorable things to me was the first time I put on my Dolorosa cosplay (a character from the web-comic, Homestuck). I had spent months working on all of the individual pieces and had never put on the whole costume yet. I remember being in the bathroom at Otakon putting on my mantle... and I wanted to cry when I saw everything come together. I was not very happy with a lot of my cosplays from the previous year, and for me to make this jump from basic t-shirt painting and circle skirt making to the detail required for this character just made me feel so proud."

As a cosplayer myself, and a fellow member the hashtagprofessionals, I can stand behind everything these two have said. Cosplay overall has become a major part of my life and I have done so many amazing things through it. Without it I would not have become so close with the people I am close with today, and I would not have something to do in my downtime.

Cosplay is something for people of all ages and I believe that literally everyone is capable of doing it. If you were afraid of trying it, dip your toes in, give it a try, and if this is the first time you are hearing of such a thing, look into it more, maybe you could find yourself going to a convention one day. Even if you personally don't cosplay, you can still go to conventions and meet people who do and learn more form that environment. I hope you have learned something that can benefit and inspire you in the long run. And I encourage you to partake in cosplay with my best wishes by your side.