Samantha Parrish

In 2007 when I got into this hobby, I was excited to enjoy a hobby that more then playing dress up, for the next ten years it would serve as something that helped me get out of my comfort zone, go to new places, make new friends, and become an important factor in keeping me busy through the rough times. But in the past years, I've noticed some dramatic changes to happen, that has made me retract from the community year by year. I still enjoy the costumes, and the transformation into a character, but the dramatics of the other individuals. I can't abide by it, nor endorse it. I've just continued to distance myself even though I miss the groups, and gatherings. I miss being able to ask a friend of mine what character they were going to dress up as for the convention weekend. Now I've not only grown apart from it, I've purposely limited my interactions and involvements. It's not just me that has noticed this, many individuals have experienced harsh toxicity in various cosplay groups. Why did a fun hobby turn hellish and more dramatic then a talk show? Now before I go on, an important disclaimer: this does not mean every cosplayer is toxic, heavens no. I personally know some amazing, humble, and kind people that are in the community that I am still close with. But there are some that have changed that I have witnessed first hand as well as some of my friends that have unfortunately experienced this change.

When the mind races without a way to explain to others in a feeling of wanting to fend of the demons by ourselves, this is a selection of songs that have gotten me through those times to find peace. Even if you aren't having an anxiety episode now, these five songs could be able to help in the moment that it happens and you need something to calm the nerves.

The tough slice of life when we feel someone has wronged, and the different answers depending on someone's situation, there could be salvaged to the pain. Sometimes it doesn't and there is no way to fix the betrayal. It's a sting that's hard to express how exactly it feels when someone we trusted has become a traitor. These songs have portrayed that definition in that moment when it happens and there needs to be a musical comfort from it.

This was a story I strayed away from just from the tiny image I saw, it alarmed me from the image of two people stitched together. Any sinister story Junji Ito crafts into a cultivating tale of terror. We never know what to expect. This one took many different turns to the ending that was sewn into our psyche.

Attraction. Relationships. It's not the same anymore. The ways have changed.