Pop Culture Conventions and My Wanderlust for Travel

Hi everyone! This year, many people will have the freedom and ability to travel without restrictions. This will be the first time since the start of the pandemic that travel will be similar to what people knew before the pandemic. Even though I can travel freely again, I considered where I could go. I have things I want to do with my money more than go on a luxury vacation, so I wanted to do something more modest. That’s when I began to think about things I used to do when I was younger. One of those places I used to go is pop culture conventions.

The thing is after years of attending conventions, I don’t want to go anymore. I love sewing costumes and I enjoy wearing them, but only at Halloween. Not at conventions. Not anymore.

There wasn’t something in particular that caused me to dislike conventions. It was just a slow and gradual realization I don’t enjoy them like I once did. I also realized I possibly didn’t like attending conventions at all. It was hard for me to go and enjoy the conventions. I usually went to conventions in driving distance to where I live, which made traveling to the conventions, attending them, and going home exhausting. They were also pretty expensive. Some weren’t. Yet, at that time I had health problems. These problems caused me to struggle with my finances and having a disposable income was, after a while, impossible. So, it was better for me to stay home, work, and spend my time doing other things.

Over the years, conventions have changed a lot. People go there with different ideas and expectations than they used to. There are still convention attendees that treat people the same as they did when I began to attend conventions, but I had a hard time running into them at the last conventions I attended.

I am not “too old” to go to conventions, but I feel the push to focus on other things in my life. Conventions no longer fulfill the need to get out of the house and be around people with like minds. I can find them at the grocery store or while buying fabric for a new sewing project. And I don’t need to buy fabric for a costume/cosplay to do it!

Today, I want to go and do other things with my time and money. I would rather spend money to be around large crowds in places like Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, or going to a big city such as New York City. Conventions were there when I need them. Now that I don’t, I am happy and thankful for the fact they were there when I needed them to be. But, it’s time to move on.

I won’t write off attending conventions forever, but I do feel the urge to explore the world beyond whatever pop culture conventions can provide for me.

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for reading!