Salt Lake Comic Con FanX 2016: My experience and first con tips.

So, like I mentioned in my last post, I went to my first ever comic con in March. I attended Salt Lake Comic Con FanX. After being very disappointed for not going to SLCC in September last year, my roommate and I decided to go to FanX. We bought are tickets as soon as they went on sale, and we decided to only go for one day, just to test the waters. I didn't want to spend a ton of money getting a multi-day pass only to discover that I didn't love it. So, we bought Saturday passes, and I counted down the months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds until my very first con. I did tons of research to get pumped (watched YouTube videos, read blog posts, looked up pictures, etc.) I honestly had no idea what to expect, so I am here to tell you my experiences with some tips I realized from going to my first con.

1) COSPLAY!!
Now, I already knew I was going to cosplay, and I had my cosplay already made. The only thing I had to make for Comic Con was a con-friendly frying pan for my Rapunzel costume. (Dollar store bubble pan and black paint.) But some people may choose to make cosplays specifically for a con. (Like I'm doing for my next con!) Cosplay is a good way to make friends. You will meet people that are in the same fandom as you, and they will appreciate your cosplay. You can even meet people in your fandom before the con by joining a cosplay facebook page in your area, or for a specific con. I am part of a Utah cosplay page, and through that, I was able to set up a huge Disney cosplay meet-up at FanX! So now for my tips:

• Make like Nike, and just do it. Seriously, even my roommate, who is not into cosplay, dressed up. It's fun, and it's a good way to show off what you love!

• Don't worry about if it's "popular". Just cosplay a character you love. Like I said above, you are showing off what you love! And trust me, there will be someone else there who likes the same things you do.
• Be prepared for pictures. Obviously the more well known/well liked characters will be stopped more often than obscure characters (there were times when me and some other Disney princesses I met  at FanX were stopped in one spot for a good 20 minutes with people just snapping pictures of us). Seriously, someone will stop you for a picture.

I fount this picture someone else took of us on Facebook! See! People ask for pictures!

• You are allowed to buy cosplays. You don't have to be crafty and make them. Buying costumes is totally fine. (I like making my own, but my current favorite was bought online from China.) Don't let anyone shame you into thinking you are less of a cosplayer.
• Put yourself out there. Join those facebook pages, post about your cosplays, ask about other peoples. Like I said, because of facebook pages, I set up a Disney Cosplay meet-up, and it turned out great! And several people there recognized me, and told me how awesome it was. I now have some new friends from it!

I SET UP THIS MEET UP!!! LOOK AT HOW BIG IT IS! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!
Photography: https://www.facebook.com/ChiseledLight/?fref=photo

• Don't be afraid to talk to people. Do you like their cosplay? Tell them! Ask for a picture! Honestly it is so flattering and makes a person's day.

How Cool is this 18th Century Cheshire Cat??? 

• (BONUS) If you are cosplaying a kid-friendly character (princess, super hero, Disney character, etc) BE NICE TO KIDS! Seriously, you don't have to stop and talk with them if you are not comfortable, but smile and wave to them. And try to be in character around kids. It's awful when a kid thinks you're their favorite character, and you're just like "Hey dude. wazzup? My name is Joe."

2) Preparation!

So, like a mentioned above, I watched/read/looked at every single thing I could fine about going to conventions, and it was so overwhelming. The actual convention was nothing like I was planning (definitely not in a bad way at all) and I felt like all the tips I got didn't apply to me. Now, since I only went for one day, I am going to give tips for one day and things I am going to do for SLCC in September (when I am going all three days of the Con).

• Decide what is the most important thing you want to do. Is there a celebrity guest you want to meet? Is there a really cool panel you want to go to? Do you want to get as many pictures as you can? Do you want people to get pictures of you? Once you decide that, you're golden.

For me, I really wanted to get pictures of cosplayers. I didn't want to spend a lot of money, so celebrities were out of the question for me, and none of the panels seemed super interesting to me. I also found a videographer that wanted to get some cosplay shots for the Convention, and set up a time with him to do a short video shoot with some other princesses. This ties back to the join facebook groups tip above. Photographers and videographers like to get shots of people at cons, and will often post to get people to set up times with them. Besides the video shoot, and the Disney meet-up, I didn't have any other set-in-stone plans, so I was able to just wander around and go with the flow for a bit.

• Bring emergency supplies. This means you will have to bring a bag or have pockets in your cosplay. I way over prepared for this (I brought two cameras with spare batteries and an external charger and extra memory cards. Overkill. Way way way overkill.) But bringing a charger is a good idea. Also, bobbypins (for wig emergencies), safety pins (for cosplay emergencies), touch-up makeup (you don't want to find pictures of yourself posted all over the internet where you're super shiny or your mascara is running), and a water bottle/small snacks (granola bars, fruit snacks, etc) are good basics to have. I also found ibuprofen was useful (I hurt my foot a few days before the convention) and bandaids if you're breaking in new shoes. I also made business cards for my princess parties to hand out to people. 
• Wear comfortable shoes/break them in before hand. I bought my very favorite flats for my Rapunzel costume, but some people need more support than flats. If you want character accurate shoes, you can get inserts to make them more comfortable. I would advise to NOT wear heels. Please. No. You will be doing SO MUCH WALKING and standing. There were a couple times throughout the day where I just looked at my friend who was with me and said "We need to find a place to sit down NOW." Seating can be hard to come by, so it is not uncommon for people to sit on the ground. Or stairs. or anywhere they will fit. By the end of the con, Maia and I collapsed on the ground while we waited for my roommate to be done watching the cosplay contest.
• You will spend money at the convention. Trust me. I was able to do the convention relatively cheaply, because I just didn't want to spend much money. Some friends and I walked to a nearby mall to have lunch, which saved money on food, and I only bought one souvenir (mostly because they sold out of the other thing I wanted). So, to prepare, set a limit for yourself. If you want artwork, that will be more money than the figurine I bought. 
• Carefully schedule your time. Look at the schedule for celebrities and panels and meet-ups, and figure out where you want to be and when. Give yourself a pretty large bumper of time (if your panel starts at 4, tell yourself you need to be there by 3 to make sure you can get over there one time.) I was at the mall before the Disney Meet-up, and I made sure we left to get to the meetup around 20 minutes early. I was able to get some personal pictures with awesome cosplayers before the meet-up happened. Just expect things to take more time than you think they will.
• Don't stress. Seriously, just remember that this is fun. If you stress, you will not sleep well and it will effect your con experience. 

So for September, I will be going all three days, and I'm looking forward to having a new con experience! Here are a few things that will be different for me

• I will be part of a group Cosplay. Now you can argue that I was kinda part of a group at FanX (I was Rapunzel with Elsa and spent some time with Ariel and Merida.) But this one is a group where we are all making coordination costumes specifically for the con.Four of us (so far) are doing a Disney Fairies group. I will be Rosetta, and we will have a Tinkerbell, Fawn, and Vidia. For this day, I am planning on just doing what everyone else wants to do since I will have the other two days to do what I want. 
• I am planning on spending the second day doing panels and shopping. I haven't had a panels experience, so I want to do a couple. Also, I will take that day to buy my souvenirs. I want to have this be a chill day because I know the other two days will be crazier. 
• I will be participating in the cosplay contest. I have a huge surprise cosplay for this day, and it is one that will be very... uhmm... well hard to do a lot in. If I make it past the prejudging and actually get to participate in the performance portion of the contest I want to make sure I have energy. And (not to sound conceited) but if my cosplay turns out how I'm hoping, I think I will be stopped for photos quite a bit. So, Saturday will be my "cosplay" heavy day. Also, a lot of people save their best cosplays for Saturday, so I want to be ready to get a lot of pictures of other people as well. 
• I will not try to get to the con 2 hours early. That was good for going one day since we were able to get a good parking spot, and get into the con super fast once it opened, but I feel like if I'm going all three days, I will not need to be that early every day. I can chill out, make sure I get some sleep, and be ready for each day.

Well, I hope this helped you get ready for your first con. Since every con is going to be different, there's not really any way to prepare you for what you have in store. Just remember, it is supposed to be fun. If you are not having fun, then maybe conventions are not for you, which is fine! But, if you're like me, you will love it. 

No go out there, and have fun at your first Con! :)

Here's a bunch of pictures from FanX

So... I'm a Cosplayer, I Guess.

Hey! It's been a while.
Like, a long while.
But, whatever, I still exist. So I will keep randomly updating my blog whenever I feel like it and you can't stop me.

So, a lot has happened since my last post. And my last update was a very very general overview of what had been going on in my life. So, the last you saw, I had a couple of costumes. Princess Anna, and Giselle, right? I don't even think I showed you guys Ariel, and I've had her for over a year now. So, this is to update you guys on my princess situation.

If you had asked me a year ago if I was a cosplayer I would look at you and say "No. That's weird."

And you'd ask me if I liked dressing up in costumes, and I would say, "Well, heck yeah!"

And then you'd ask if I liked playing in my costumes and I would say, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

And then you'd say, "HA! Cosplay = costume + play! So you cosplay."

And I'd be like, "Well, if you put it that way. But I don't like anime, and I don't like comics, and I'm not a geek, so no. I refuse to believe I'm a cosplayer."

But guys, I have learned something in the past year:
I AM A COSPLAYER.

And, I went to Comic Con in March.

This is a thing. An Awesome Thing. I will make more posts about it later, but seriously, I love cosplay. Don't worry, I still do princess parties, but I realized that you can do both! (And let me tell you, they are very different things, Not all cosplayers can be party performers, and not all party performers want to be cosplayers. Again, I will make a more in depth post about it later.)

Now, I will finally introduce you to all of the current cosplays I have! (In order of creation)

Winter Anna
Cosplay made by me
Wig from Amazon: HERE
Photography: https://www.facebook.com/geekgirlph/?fref=ts

Cartoon Giselle
CosplayAltered/Made by me
Photography: https://www.facebook.com/NuciferaNebula/timeline

Mermaid Ariel
Cosplay made by me
Wig from Walmart (I have a new, unstyled, better quality wig I haven't used yet.)

Kiss The Girl Ariel
Cosplay made/altered by me
Wig from Walmart

Rapunzel
Cosplay made by me
Wig styled by me. (Base wigs from here)
Elsa is my friend Maia. :)

2015 Cinderella
Cosplay altered by Me
Wig from Saver's

    

Provincial Belle
Cosplay altered by me
Wig styled by me. (Base wig here)
Photography: jocilynmccleve.com

 

Coronation Anna
Cosplay from Here
Wig styled by me. (Base wigs here)
More photography: https://www.facebook.com/Utahs-Disney-Squad-538028536383797/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

I am so in love with all my cosplays. I also have plans for three more cosplays this year, so stay tuned for updates! 

Which cosplay is your favorite?? I personally love being Anna, and the new Coronation dress is SO much fun! :)

I Have Survived For 22 Years

Well, today is my 22nd birthday. I have been on this earth for 22 years. Crazy right? (Also, it feels like it's been almost that long since my last blog post, right??)

I can't say that I'm sad to not be 21 anymore. I mean, I have had some great times! I had the bestest roommates ever (and currently have some pretty amazing roommates, too), I got a beautiful new baby cousin, William, I got to see my favorite person ever graduate from high school and then be knighted as a Jedi at the Happiest Place on Earth, I have made some amazing friends, and I have found a new passion for "princessing" (being a party princess).

But, to be honest, this past year has been one the my hardest years ever. I almost failed a class, then missed the withdraw deadline, and had to retake it. I worked my heart out to apply for the creative track for advertising, and was absolutely crushed when I found out I had not made it in. My great-grandfather, who I had seen make great changes throughout my life, including being baptized and later sealed to his late wife, passed away. I got in one of the biggest fights of my life with my roommates, almost to the point where I thought I had ruined our friendship forever (I didn't, but it was still one of the hardest weeks of my life). I have lost my best friend, and have seriously questioned the sincerity of our whole friendship. I have been heart-broken more times in the past year than I think I ever have in my whole life (if that is even possible).

Even though I fell like I have spent the majority of my time of the past year in tears, I have also spent a majority of my time on my knees in prayer with my Heavenly Father. I have grown closer to Him in so many ways. I have come to learn that the Atonement is not just for a remission of sins (although that is a huge, significant part of it). Christ has literally felt every single pain that I have felt this past year, and more than that. He knows specifically what I am going through, and although he cannot change what happened to me, he CAN give me the exact comfort I need. It can get easier, and it WILL get easier if you trust in the Lord.

21 was an emotionally painful, but spiritually strengthening year for me, so, bring it on, 22! May my testimony and faith in the Lord grow stronger! (But, hopefully not in the same, painful ways it did while being 21.)

Do You Want To Build A Snowman?

Well, it's 2015. Crazy. Remember my last post? Well, I would like to say that the rest of my semester went fantasitcally, but it didn't. It only got worse. But, at least the semester from Outer Darkness is over with.

Christmas break was great, and much needed! I loved spending time with my family, and I got to see quite a few friends!

One of the things I got to do over the break was have a photo shoot! My best friend, Kourtney, took some awesome pictures of me in my Anna costume so that I would have some great pictures for my Princess Party website. It was a lot of fun, and she took soooooo many pictures! Here are a few of the best ones!

Kourtney made it look like it was snowing! (Even though we were in Arizona, and it definitely was NOT snowing.)

Look! It's Grand Pabbie!

I "Photoshopped" this picture (using Microsoft Paint) and accidentally saved it. So I don't have the original of it. Haha

Does the air seem a bit thin up here to you?

This photo, and all the ones after it, were edited by me. Which is why they don't look as good. Oh well, I tried.

What if I meet THE one?!

I just love these pictures! There were some kids at the park we were taking pictures at, and they absolutely adored me. This little boy kept just looking up at me with a HUGE grin on his face! He definitely could have melted my Frozen heart! 

And to finish of this post, here are a few silly pictures!

Look! I'm Sven!

Climbing a tree is totally a crazy Anna thing to do, right?

Just... don't ask, ok?

Breaking Down

So, it's near the end of the semester. We just had Thanksgiving, we just got to push through the last few weeks of school and finals, and we will be freeeeee for a few weeks.

Well, this is usually the time that stress gets to me. 

And, oh, did it get to me.

So, some back story: This semester, I took an interior design class, purely for fun. It was not to fill any sort of requirements for anything, it honestly just sounded like a fun class. Since it was just for fun, and didn't count toward anything, I kind of put it on the back burner a bit. I still did my assignments, but I wasn't putting quite as much effort into them as my other classes. I mean, no big deal, I was still doing pretty well in the class, so it was ok. But in October, our 2nd midterm was coming up, and it would be in the testing center for a few days. After reviewing my schedule, I found that taking it on the last day of the test was going to be my best option. I had a work training meeting that night, but they usually only last an hour or two, so I knew I would have time to take it that night. When I got to my work meeting, I found out that what I thought was going to be a short, hour long meeting was supposed to be a 4-hour meeting, meaning I would completely miss the test. Well, for my job, if I don't get the right training, I can't work. So I knew I couldn't just blow the meeting off. So right there, in the middle of the meeting, I emailed my interior design professor, explaining the situation, and asking if there was any way possible for me to come in and take the test first thing in the morning, or if that wouldn't be possible, if there was anything I could do to make up some of the points I would miss from not taking the test. I never hear back from him, so two days later, I went up to him after class to ask him if he got my email. He said he did, but that he just didn't want to deal with it, so he didn't reply. (Which I immediately thought was very unprofessional. Even if there was nothing I could do, at least tell me that.) He told me there was nothing I could do to make up for the test. Well, with completely missing an exam, I knew that I would probably fail the class. After about a week, I decided the best thing for me to do was withdraw from the class. Since I had never had to do that before, I asked someone who works in my advisement center what to do. I was told that I needed to meet with my academic adviser before I could withdraw. So I went to make an appointment, and I was told that the withdraw deadline was November 19th. So I mad an appointment for the 17th with my adviser (that was the soonest time her schedule was open at a time that mine was too). When I went in, I explained my situation, and my adviser told me that I didn't need to make an appointment with her, I could have just withdrawn on my own. Then she opened up my schedule so she could withdraw me, and the button to withdraw wasn't there. She was confused since she thought the deadline was on the 19th. So she pulled out her university schedule, and looked up the deadline. It turns out, the deadline was actually on the 10th, and I had missed it, but my adviser told me I could petition to withdraw. So I filled out the petition, and wrote why I had missed the deadline (because a BYU employee had given me incorrect information), and I had to get a signature from my professor. I went to the office and turned in my petition, and I was told it might be a few days before they could get to mine and that I would be emailed with their decision.

Fast forward a few weeks to last Wednesday. I woke up late, was rushed to finish an in-class assignment (that ended up not being printed after I sent it to the printer), I had a dance test that I didn't feel prepared for, and I was sooo stressed out thinking of all of the things that I had to get done (including making a portfolio and applying to the creative track of the advertising program). I realized that I had not heard from the petition office, so I decided to go in, just to see if my petition had been looked at yet. 
And that is when I broke.
I received the news that my petition had been denied. 
I managed to say "Oh, ok. Thanks." to the girl and turn around before bursting into tears.
This could not be happening to me.
After all that I went through, I would not be able to withdraw from my class, even though me missing the deadline was not my fault, but the fault of an employee of BYU.
I was done. I couldn't handle it. I called my father on the phone and begged him to just let me quit and drive home that night. I didn't want to deal with getting an F in a class (especially since my grades from all my other semesters had been nothing special. Not horrible, but not fantastic). I didn't want to deal with all of my assignments and papers and finals and tests. I just wanted to call it quits and go home. My dad told me I couldn't do that. I cried and talked to him until I had to go to class, and I somehow composed myself for my last two classes of the day. My friend gave me a ride home, and I went straight to a work party, then I went to WalMart, to pick up a flash drive for my creative track application. I came home, and did some work, and then decided to go to bed. I got all ready and I decided to read my favorite scripture before praying. And oh, did I pray. I can only think of a couple of other times when I prayed so hard. I kneeled at the side of my bed, just pouring out my heart to the Lord. I told Him that I couldn't do it. I could not possibly handle this news with all of my stress on my own. No, I needed help. It's like the part of the poem, Footprints in the Sand, there was only going to be one set of footprints in the sand at this point, they weren't going to be mine. They couldn't be mine. I could not do it. I asked God to help me get through the next few days, to take away my stress, and to make everything ok. I knew He wasn't going to miraculously change the petition reviewers' minds, but I knew He could comfort me, and help me find a some other solution. I went to bed that night feeling completely peaceful.
The next morning, I decided to read my scriptures in the morning, which I don't normally do (I'm a night time scripture reader), and then I went to the temple. After the temple, I went immediately to working on my portfolio. There was so much I had to do, since I hadn't even started to put it together, but I was somehow able to almost finish it before I had to leave to go to work. After work, I ate dinner and then met up with one of the girls in one of my group projects to work on our ads so I could get as much of them as possible for my portfolio. I thought she was applying too, so she would need some finished ads too, but she had decided not to apply. She stayed and worked on the project with me for 4 hours just to help me out, not for her benefit at all. When I got home, I put the improved ads in my portfolio and worked on it a little bit more before going to bed.
On Friday, I had to go on a tour thing for one of my classes. After, I went to campus to work on an assignment for one of my classes. Then I went to class and my class was able to get lots of work done on our class project. After class, I met with the professor of the class I tried to withdraw from to discuss my options. My options are 1) take the F. Or 2) get an incomplete, and start the class where I left off next semester (but I wouldn't be registered for the class, so online assignments would be super difficult for me because I couldn't access them online. Also I'd have to do all of that class's work on top of my full schedule of other classes.) I couldn't believe that my professor, who had been pretty unprofessional, was now willing to work with me so I wouldn't get a failing grade. After meeting with him, I went to finish my application. All I had to do was write a letter explaining why I should get in. The idea came into my head to re-write the lyrics to a song as my "letter", and then, after picking a song, the words just came to me. Honestly, I really only had to think hard about one little part, the rest just wrote itself. I know it's kind of silly, but I know that I was receiving inspiration from God.
Even though last week was really hard for me, it really strengthened my testimony. I know that God hears and answers my prayers. He does not want me to fail or be unhappy. I know that when I put God first in my life, I can be blessed in ways I never thought I could be. I also know that God really cares about me and my interests and likes and wants and hopes and desires. He knows about my stresses and disappointments and helplessness. I know that Jesus Christ went through exactly what I felt last week, plus more. Plus so much more. And he chose to do it, he chose to take on all of the sins, pains, and sorrows of every single person who has ever or will ever live on the earth. I can't imagine how that must of felt, how much strength it took. I was ready to give up completely after just one day of disappointment and stress. I am forever, eternally grateful for my loving Father in Heaven and for Jesus Christ.