You don’t have to be perfect for the role you want to be

I think for three years, I’ve kind of been going off and on with my anxiety, things that I’ve personally been through, going through growing up. A lot of people don’t realize how difficult it is living through it. It can be anything, in crowds like today or just trying to be different or just be yourself not thinking about being judged for who you are, which is a constant thing in our society. So being here, it just helps, sort of. I can relate to everybody here because everyone has similarities. And it’s not weird to like these kind of things. People who come to these cons are really motivated and don’t feel insecure to show yourself no matter what size, race or anything. You can be just anything you want to be, whatever you like, comic, anime. You don’t have to be perfect for the role you want to be or look up to.

It’s motivated me to like the things that I do like and not really conform to everybody else. It makes me want to draw, be more colorful with things I like wearing and be more positive and accepting of others and myself.

I do like collecting plushes just because it’s the kid in me that I still like to keep alive in a sense. I just don’t want to grow old, being miserable and sad, of letting go being young. When I was little I had a Simba that I really liked. That was kind of my first toy. It was this little lion that when you would shake it it would rattle. I was really into Lion King. It was a relaxation. I just liked holding it. It was relaxing because of the rattle it still works all these years. I still have it.