17 Dec.

Passion

today, i found myself rediscovering a long lost passion for anime. for a period of time, i rode the anime wave and considered myself a part-time otaku - religiously following a handful of anime series at a time, and collecting merchandise related to any of my favourite anime series. i didn't have the privilege of discussing my interest with a large group of people (as with most of my interests for the following years to come), so when everyone else grew up and decided to pick up girls instead, i was left metaphorically alone with my inevitable waning interest to anime, comics, and video games as a whole. as i walked into the convention hall where Comic Fiesta 2011 was held, i was literally stunned by the amount of people who turned up not only as normal visitors, but all in costume as well.

it shouldn't be quite a huge surprise when it comes to conventions like this - you go all out for the biggest social gathering of like-minded individuals. i guess what left the biggest impression of all was how young a lot of the cosplayers were, and at such a young age they are capable of creating some really elaborate costumes and personas to go with it. their passion, and most of all, their determination really impressed me. i think about these kids and how they have their friends who were, and most probably, still are really into their hobby, and encouraging each other to reach out for their dreams. having a group of like-minded friends who share the same passion as you, it seems, can definitely take you a long way - albeit maybe a little bit faster than having keeping the passion to yourself. i'm just conjecturing.

browsing the booths, i picked up some A3 prints done by local artists. i guess when people start appreciating what you love doing most so much so they would even pay for your work, it shows how much passion one has for his or her work. like how a cosplayer's costume is so well made that everyone wants to photograph that person with his/her costume on. i wondered what would've happened if i were still an anime otaku - would i be in one of these conventions in a Gundam costume or perhaps manning a booth where i'm selling my artwork?

all i have left is my photography, and if that dies like a lot of my other interests as well, i don't think i could live with myself.