New York Comic Con, it’s a bittersweet goodbye.

Every year this nerd prom is held at the Jacob Javits center.

I originally had a line up and then ended up winging it last minute because I couldn’t find all the parts to one of my cosplays, and that weekend ended up being colder than previous years so I ended up wearing my Harley catsuit for two of the days to stay warm yet comfortable.

This isn’t going to be a long post because well, there’s not much to say. NYCC came and went just as I expected. I attended all 4 days but I seriously was only there for about 1-3 hours each day. In the past I used to stay there for hours. I used to arrive early at opening and stay til 6-7pm. This year, I didn’t have an itinerary so I arrived late, which worked out because I didn’t have to wait in line and push through to get checked in. Arriving later, you just walk through, easy breezy. I walked the show floor every day trying to check it out and see if there was anything new, different or exciting. Sad to report, there was nothing to report. It’s the same old booths every year now, but with bigger crowds and longer lines, which deters me from wanting to stick around and wait. Thursdays used to be my favorite day with lower crowds but this year, Thursday felt like a Saturday so I was already feeling drained from the get go.

I did attend one panel that I thoroughly enjoyed and found encouraging as well as informative. The Cosplay corner held a “From Fangirl to Girl Boss” panel, highlighting how women can break through in unconventional careers that they have a great passion in and kill it. I don’t know if I’ll ever take the risk to such a unconventional path but it’s nice to know that it can be done and there are plenty of people who have done it. It’s just rare and really requires you to take that leap of faith. I met Diana Li, otherwise known as The Loveless on Instagram and she was really inspiring, giving me a few minutes of her time after the panel to speak with me. She told me of her friend who was also in the pharmacy field and now working in the entertainment industry and loving it. While I would love to make the transition, I’m an East Coast Asian, more accustomed and comfortable in having a job with job security so for now, I put security over my passion when it comes to my career. Maybe one day when I feel more secure in my finances, I’ll take the chance. Especially since another panelist revealed that age isn’t a factor as she started later in the game.

One pretty cool thing they did have this year was an art gallery dedicated to Harley Quinn and her evolution through the years with the different animations, renditions, costumes, and interpretations, both through art and live action. This gallery was probably one of my favorites to visit and it was actually kind of hidden since it wasn’t at the actual Javits center. It was good and bad because I would’ve never have known about it without Diana posting about it but when I did find where it was, I loved that it wasn’t crowded at all and you could browse at your leisure and take your time taking it all in. You could take as many photos as you want without an Instagram trap line. They even had the Harley bat available for you to do a quick video clip with, and they were giving out free Harley posters and pins.

I still had a good weekend, nonetheless. I took the opportunity to spend time with my family and celebrate the beginning of my birthday through multiple birthday dinners and cakes. It felt good to eat normal again for a minute, with no dietary restrictions. It felt even better coming back on Monday morning and finding that there was no damage done, haha!

I have no idea what I’m going to do next year to fill the NYCC weekend void but here’s to new beginnings and different paths!