Dressing up as ones favorite character usually only happens once a year, Halloween. For some people however, it happens multiple times a year. For many fans of anime, cosplay is a hobby .

“Cosplay is not just costumes or clothes,” sophomore Bryan Talamadge said. “A major part of cosplay is pretending to be the character and sometimes we even use face paint.”

Cosplay- which is short for costume play- is the act of dressing up in costumes as a character from a movie, show, comic book, novel or video game. There are many reasons why people choose to participate in cosplay, but mostly it is just for fun.

“It all started with my friend, she wanted to do a Sailor Moon cosplay and I was like, ‘Oh what’s this? This is cool dressing up,’ and so we bought our costumes and got together and I realized it was a lot of fun,” freshman Hannah Marqardt said.

Though ‘fun’ is not the only reason students participate in cosplay, it is also a great way to make friends, to add creativity to ones life and is a learning experience.

“I’ve been learning so many great new talents and skills,” Marqardt said. “Also met new people that are involved with it.”

Not always having the money to buy new costumes for every cosplay convention causes cosplayers to be both thrifty and creative. Many seahawk cosplayers visit thrift stores, such as Goodwill and S.A.V.E. Thrift Store around Halloween time to snag the best deals on costumes.

At the end of the day the hobby of cosplaying brings enjoyment and excitement to a cosplayers life. Everything from sewing, to shopping, to going to events.

 “It’s been a really great experience for me,” Marqardt said.