San Diego is often associated with one event that occurs annually and that is Comic Con.

I had always dreamed of being able to walk the halls of the convention center with like-minded individuals/nerds who are obsessed with elements of comics, art and stories. People who are allowed to flourish with their complete fandom and no judgement is presented simply admiration.

The cosplay of Comic Con baffled me due to the extent of detail that took place. There was a rebirth of my inner child with set ups of Capcom, Nintendo, Dragonball Z, Gundam, Lego, Disney, among others. The creative energy and inspiration that seemed to soak inside of me. The awe of being newly exposed to everything was at times overbearing yet pleasing at every moment.

The merchandise, the collectors’ items and the art are a wonder to see. But where the true value comes from is the experience of the artists themselves. The panels are where the people behind the scenes who are creating the stories, developing the characters, manifesting the ideas and expressing their successes and failures are. Their knowledge of how they became successful is invaluable especially to a young creative looking to break into the industry. One piece of advice that stuck out to me came from a panel of women and how they’re looking to destroy the negative stigma portrayed towards female characters.

“Don’t let others stomp out your authentic voice… only to become formulaic.”

This is vital advice for an aspiring creative with raw talent and passion that is often diluted towards making a paycheck. Comic Con showed me that there are what appear to be people just like me having endless amounts of success in their respective fields but in the shadows. They remained humble despite being some of the most crucial factors of certain show and comic book achievement. It’s admirable to see influential women making lanes in the industry and in the culture overall.

The ambience and life Comic Con brings to the city of San Diego is incredible. There are people from all over the world, different ethnicities, different ideals, yet they are all gathered due to the relation of love over an art form. It is something essential and cannot be replaced due to the economic impact it has on this city.

Comic Con will go down as one my most memorable experiences. It is an event I wish everyone at some point in their life is able to attend, especially if they study art and not just for the sake of seeing celebrities or to just tell people that they went. As with anything in life, you get what you make of the opportunities given to you and I took advantage of Comic Con which truly ignited a creative spark within me.