Being a cosplayer is super fun! Having the opportunity of becoming your favorite character in a series, movie or video game is only one of the perks of practicing this hobby. But when you reach adulthood and have to take responsibilities, it may become a burden, or you might even feel unmotivated to continue. Those are only a few of the struggles a cosplayer faces during college.
I started cosplaying while in high school and it was all fun and games until around my second year of college, when things started getting pretty serious. With each year passing, it became harder and harder to choose a character to cosplay because I had less time to watch anime or series, or even play video games; I was lost from all pop of culture.
Many cosplayers have revealed that the biggest hardship of this hobby while being a college student is lack of time. We must have amazing time management skills! Having a test on Monday but a convention on the weekend? That paper is due Wednesday, but you’re working on the prop for the cosplay you will use during the weekend? You threw an all-nighter to finish sewing the clothes and you noticed tomorrow is Thursday? I’ve seen and lived through all these scenarios. Learning how to divide my time was the key to keep up this hobby and make the most out of it. Agendas are my best friends! I also prefer watching short series that are easier to understand or playing relaxing video games and from those, I choose a character that I like and that is simple to cosplay. Of course I make some complicated ones too, but I leave those for vacations, and I must highlight that a lot of people help me make them. I wouldn’t be able to do it alone. A lot of cosplayers prefer to buy their cosplays, and this is one of the reasons why. That’s why we can’t judge if people buy or make their costumes; because we never know what they are going through. Lack of time is a bummer and it’s worse when it leads to the next point: lack of motivation.
Putting on a cosplay is not the same as putting on a costume. The cosplay has many parts to it: the makeup, the wigs, the poses. With lack of time comes lack of motivation. In order to become a successful or known cosplayer you must be consistent in creating content, but by the time we college cosplayers get home, we have barely any energy left to put everything on. They like to look fresh and lively, either for pictures or for a convention, and if they are too tired, everyone will notice. Now, imagine those who also have a job! Taking classes, studying, going to work, and then putting on a cosplay. I’m already tired from reading it! I remember one time I had a class on Saturdays and there was a convention. I took everything with me and, at the end of the class, I changed and did my makeup. I thought I looked amazing! When I saw the pictures at the end of the day, I looked devastated! I was so tired and drained, but I didn’t want to miss the con. This is a situation more common than you think. Please, never feel guilty for skipping a convention or a cosplay event. Try to stay focused on your future, because at the end of the day, cosplay is just a hobby. You shouldn’t feel burdened by something that’s meant to be fun.
Another factor that leads to lack of motivation is the amount of support you receive. Everyone loves to be hyped! But having less followers or less people that support you on your hobby can be a little frustrating. Finding friends that share the same interest is a confidence boost! Working together in cosplays even becomes a fun hang out. Tag along with your bestie and go buy materials or plan a cosplay group together, that will help you stay motivated and will make cosplaying enjoyable. And please, if you see someone with a cosplay you like, tell them! I can assure you that it will make their day. It’s very wholesome when someone you don’t know compliments your work, so don’t be shy and let them know they are doing amazing. If someone asks for tips or help on how to do something, help them. Trust me when I say that they will be grateful forever and will remember you too!
Another big struggle is money. Many cosplayers expressed that it is hard to balance college life with cosplay, because there’s a lot of money involved in both. Even if the cosplay is simple, you will spend money. Materials are not cheap and, even if they are, you’re still spending money. Imagine you’re super pumped for a cosplay and think you have the money to spend, just to realize that you forgot to pay rent or to save money for food. Many cosplayers make a lot of sacrifices just to watch that dream cosplay become a reality. Wigs are expensive, fabrics aren’t cheap, and usually you’ll need a lot of materials to make a prop. I would say the cheapest cosplay will range around $100, and that’s still a lot! So the next time you see a cosplay, please be nice to the cosplayer because you don’t know what they went through to get it done. Cosplayer tip: try to make a budget. Don’t buy everything at the same time. Instead, buy the cosplay’s elements little by little: buy your wig during the first week, buy the fabric during the next one, and so on. Planning is key in cosplaying!
There are cosplayers who are very passionate about this hobby, to the point where they can’t concentrate on doing college work because all they think about is cosplay, and I completely understand. It’s the same feeling when you’re excited about something and you can’t concentrate on anything else. Your brain is full of possibilities: which wig color fits better? Which type of fabric would be better? Which makeup will look better? You get home and start working on cosplay instead of your homework. It’s hard to balance the excitement with reality, but every cosplayer needs to do it, because sadly, there’s only a selected few who can make money out of cosplay. If this is your struggle, try to concentrate on your future, and think about this: if you study hard, you can get a good job, and then you’ll be able to make any cosplay you like! Use your hobby as a motivation!
Preparation time is fundamental for a cosplayer. Like I mentioned before, cosplaying takes time and the process to make it is no exception. Cosplayers need to divide time to make every part well, and it’s a real pain when something doesn’t turn out right, or you don’t know how to make it. But you also don’t have the time to do it again. This is why some cosplayers take months in the creation of a cosplay, because lack of time is a great limit. A piece of advice is to count the days for the event where you want to use it, identify your free days, and work on your cosplays on those days. Beware of stressing over it, because, whenever a hobby becomes a burden, it’s no longer considered a hobby. Always remember you are doing this for fun! That’s why it is called cosPLAY.
The last of the struggles would be the fear of being known as a cosplayer. Multiple cosplayers have said how they fear that their college classmates find out they cosplay. People often think this is something only immature people do and that’s not true. You’re never too old or too young to cosplay! I know a lot of grown ups who cosplay and they do an amazing job! A cosplayer is still a person underneath the costume and they should be respected and taken seriously when they are out of character. This is a hobby just like playing video games and watching movies and series. We cosplayers just choose to be another person (or creature, we never know) during our free time, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Not everything has to be bad, right? There are many advantages about being a college cosplayer. For example, meeting people with your same interests. I met many of my cosplay friends in college and it was such a relief when I could share my ideas with them and they understood. This also helped me with social anxiety, because knowing more people of my age range that had the same likings as me made me realize that I am not alone in worrying about people being judgmental. Believe it or not, you can use what you learn during college for cosplays. When I cosplayed as Mei from Overwatch, I used my knowledge of languages to be accurate, since I learned Mandarin, and that character is Chinese. Maybe you can use math to take measurements or art for the accuracy of colors. It can also help you attend events farther from home. If a cosplayer attends a university where they have to stay in a dorm or apartment, this will give them the chance to travel to other places. And the list goes on! There are many perks of being a cosplayer in college! This is a hobby where everyone has the opportunity to be as creative as they like, while having a fun and relaxing time. If you ever want to try it, I encourage you to do so and then you can tell us about your experience!