Aggressors, I did something completely new and terrifying this past weekend at Silicon Valley Comic Con – I dressed up in several homemade costumes and let people take pictures of me.

That’s right, I cosplayed for the very first time. Guess what? I loved it.

A little background for you, I am not the type of person to seek the limelight, far from it! My sister is the actress in the family, I was far more content working behind the scenes and I would always choose a good book over going out for Karaoke. I’ve only done that once, for the record and I was terrified then as well.

I’ve been doing this thing where I try my best to face my fears, acting, heights, singing in front of people, dressing up in a costume and Doing The Thing at a convention. It’s been challenging, most definitely challenging! But also, quite exhilarating. It’s been lovely to look back and pinpoint moments where I can say “Look at that, I did that. I jumped into this thing that I was SCARED about and I did it. I kicked it’s ass.”

Captured by Arian Hormozi Photography
Captured by Arian Hormozi Photography, I’m the green haired shield maiden with glasses.

So when I say that I cosplayed for the first time at Silicon Valley Comic Con (SVCC), which had an attendance over the weekend of an estimated 60,000 people, this was a Big Deal for me.

I was part of several group Cosplays, therefore I was in my comfort zone surrounded by people in similar outfits that I knew and trusted. First, we ran around the convention center in new Battlestar Galactica uniforms – both deck crew and pilots – made by the incredibly talented Midwick Armory.  I was one of the deck crew, running around smeared with engine grease in an orange jumpsuit.

Captured by The Watters Mark Photography
Captured by The Watters Mark Photography

Knowing that I was in a screen accurate suit from one of my all-time favorite shows (with my own name and serial number on the tag!), that I could fit right in with the Colonial Fleet, gave me such a surge of energy that I think it powered me through much of the next 24 hours. I felt like I belonged with this incredible group of people, doing this incredible thing, merely because we all loved it equally.

Oh and that night? You may have seen me and my closest friends running around in Love Trek uniforms and bad wigs. That was for sheer fun, and because it was my beloved Editor-in-Chief’s birthday!

Captured by The Watters Mark Photography
Captured by The Watters Mark Photography

Sunday at Con was the day of the Viking invasion, including myself. All props and costume pieces I used were handmade by my partner and I in the weeks before the convention. I dressed for the day as the shieldmaiden I am and formed a Viking shieldwall with Lagertha, Floki, Porunn and a few other miscellaneous viking characters.

Did I mention that I shaved part of my head for that? When you feel like you’re a part of something fierce and glorious, I suppose you also want to feel fierce and glorious.

At the end of the day, I think that’s what I figured out about cosplay in general. When you love something (a show, or a movie, comic book, etc.), you find yourself emulating the things you love about it, for certain people among us that manifests in make ourselves into living recreations of the characters we love and look up to so very much. I am honored to be a part of a group of people that so readily encourages my passions and in fact encourages me to BE my passions. I have officially caught the bug, and I plan on doing more of it in the future.

So Say We All.

ABOUT >> Gwendolyn Reza
  • ACCOUNT NAME >> gwendies
  • BIO >> Gwendolyn Reza is a lifelong science fiction and fantasy lover based out of San Francisco, California. She loves books, both comic and otherwise, punk rock and all things wild.
  • CONTACT >>

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