I had an UNBELIEVABLE time at Central PA Comic-con last weekend! What an event! The rush of nerd energy is exactly what my life needed. So, in honor of that, here are five things that I absolutely love about Comic Cons…

1. You can call people by their character’s name. I just love that you can say, “Hey, Cinderella, can I take your picture?” and then she’ll say, “Okay!” and then you chat about how cool her costume is, and then you go your separate ways. At no point in the interaction does it seem even remotely necessary to give one’s actual name. You are Cinderella for the weekend, and that’s pretty special.
   
2. People who can’t talk through their costume. It’s a talent! For example, this awesomely creepy cat cosplayer was an absolute delight even though he/she couldn’t say a word to me. The cat stayed in character as it selected something from my free basket, allowed me to take a picture, and shared my distress when I had trouble with my camera. In a word: brilliant.
   
3. Little kids in costume. There’s just something satisfying about the young ones being brought up in the ways of the Force (or whatever nerdy analogy floats your boat).
   
4. It gives me an excuse to do this. What can I say? I love wax seals. The prospect of making close to a hundred sealed letters was just too tempting to resist! I had a ton of fun making these, and then chatting with people about how insanely satisfying sealed letters are. Cons are a great excuse to spend days crafting things.
   
5. Getting to meet gracious celebrities. I got to meet the truly enchanting Nichelle Nichols this past weekend. Such a wonderful woman. Because she started her career singing and dancing, I gave her a copy of The World That Forgot How to Dance, to which she said, “This is lovely.” *cue Olivia melting into a puddle of happiness*
   
   Later on, I saw a girl cosplaying Anna from Frozen sing a (very good!) rendition of “Let it Go” for Ms. Nichols, and she clapped for her. (As did we all. That girl had a stunning voice.) Just being around someone that gracious and wonderful was a real gift. 

Anyone want to add to the list of Comic Con favorites??