Fellow Alabamian Kathryn Tucker Windham once said “I think storytelling is a way to say I love you” and I certainly do believe that.

There is power in storytelling, and I long to tap into that power as a cosplayer and creator to forge meaningful connections built on empathy and understanding. The fictional worlds we love are not only escapes; they are lenses to challenge and uplift our views of our own. Characters we love, and the time we spend understanding them, can aid in understanding ourselves and each other.

In other words, I cosplay, a humanizing art by nature, as a way to know and be known through characters that connect to or speak to facets of myself - that through analysis can spark thought on how I want to make a more understanding world.