It isn’t uncommon for children to strap on a cape to play batman or superman or superwoman even. However, many of us replace those capes and tights with roles like uncles, managers, and aunts in later life. The latter roles aren’t as fun and often stifles our ability to explore new identities, which can limit our self-confidence in several ways.
Cosplay for many first-timers may make them feel like imposters, but that discomfort isn’t proof that they don’t belong but instead that they need to adjust to the new role. It’s a lot like wearing a new pair of shoes that may be tight in some places but will even out in a few months.
Cosplay Helps You Make an Instant Connection with New People
Cosplay allows you to be a cartoon character, a film character, or a video game character. When you’re in character, it gives you a shroud of impenetrable confidence because it isn’t you that’s cracking that joke or firing that make belief gun, it’s that character. That’s why even the most introverted person, becomes outgoing, capable of speaking with dozens of people in a single night when they are in character.
Being in character helps many people master the often impossible task of small talk. However, that first conversation often leads to a much wider network of friends and acquaintances which would otherwise not have been possible without that costume.
Cosplay Turns You into a People Magnet
Not many of us are particularly good at hanging out at bars to meet people. It can be a nerve-wracking experience with the fear of rejection is often overpowering our confidence.
When you’re at a con, dressed up as your favorite character, people come up and talk to you. After your first con, it becomes abundantly clear that looking interesting like maybe dressing up as The Lone Wanderer from Fallout for instance is an excellent way to interact with people without the fear of rejection.
Context is everything so by wearing the Lone Wanderer costume, you’re instantly attracting like-minded people, who share the same interest. That takes having cold feet or the fear of rejection out of the equation. You don’t need to manufacture confidence to then speak with everyone who comes to meet you at the con.
Cosplay Makes You Confident in Several Ways
Many of us look at some really confident people and assume that they are born like that and that they are confident in every scenario. However, confidence isn’t a quality that people just have, the truth is that this person you admire may be comfortable at different things than you are. For instance, if you enjoy spending time in a library compared to a bar, you’re going to feel more confident in that setting.
Many people feel comfortable dressed up as their favorite television of video game character. Not only does it give them confidence when in character but allows them to experiment with different personalities. All of this practice often leads to an overall boost in confidence not just when in costume but it (higher confidence) trickles down to other aspects of life.
Final Thoughts
As you have seen throughout this article, Cosplay is more than a fun hobby. It also helps people gain confidence, meet others, and improves their life overall.
If you found this article interesting and would like to read more about Cosplay check out some of our recent posts below. Or, you can also visit our store to check out our EVA foam which you can use to create awesome cosplay outfits.
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