Flying my Freak Flag after New York Comic Con

Following all sorts of airport delays, we have returned home from an exhilarating vacation at New York Comic Con.  Surrounded by nerds of all sorts "flying their freak flags", as Adam Savage says, being thrust back into reality has been jarring.  I've been fighting my depression all friggin day from overwhelming my mind and emotions.  I loved being around people like me; people who complimented me on my most nerdy clothes and accessories, things that get overlooked in my everyday life, or better yet, incite raised eyebrows or smirks.  I dyed my hair purple for the occasion, and it wasn't until I was in the city that the weird looks stopped, and the compliments began. 

I don't know what I expected from Comic Con, honestly.  Celebrities, cosplay, and comics were what I'd guessed, but not that many celebrities were scheduled to be there, and the really famous ones were only doing autographs that charged more than what I payed for my ticket.  The shows looked..... interesting, but nothing really caught my eye.  It wasn't until we were ascending the two story tall escalator up from the subway towards the convention center, when I looked around at all the wonderful costumes, the bright colored hair, and the nerdy t-shirts, that I began to get a sense of what I was getting myself into. 

I loved all the panels.  Some made me laugh until it hurt, while others caused me to quietly think about writing.  I met my favorite YA fantasy author, even if just for a minute, and saw how much of a quiet nerd she was, just like the rest of us.  I brought home signed books and art from writers and artists that I adore.  I decorated my room with nerdy souvenirs that will continue to enable my nerdiness, and remind me to fly my freak flag.  Even though it wasn't exciting or awe-inspiring, I loved the quiet room that NYCC provided us.  It was a space for people like me to recharge our batteries, lest we become overwhelmed with the constant noise and shoulder-to-shoulder crowds that were everywhere, all the time.  I reveled in, yet again, being surrounded by people like me, people who needed that kind of space to continue having fun and absorbing the awesome that is Comic Con.  

Listening to my heroes emanate passion about the things that they do has given me inspiration and motivation, something that is so difficult for me to maintain on a daily basis.  Comic Con has made me want to write, paint, crochet, play games, and just create as much as I can.  I often wonder why creating brings such fulfillment in people's lives, but it doesn't matter to me, in the end.  I know that as long as I can continue to create, make things, and be with nerds like me, I'll be able to keep flying my freak flag long after I've left Comic Con behind, until the next time where I can recharge my nerdiness, and start all over again.

Here are some of the pictures we took at NYCC for everyone else to enjoy.  They're a reminder that, unlike my purple hair, this feeling that Comic Con has given me won't fade so quickly into the normalcy that is everyday life.