In early 2020, before everything went down, my best blob and I went to Anime Crossroads and I fulfilled middle school Sarah’s dreams and recreated my Haruno Sakura cosplay. It felt appropriate to create a call back to the very first cosplay I ever did way back in 2006 at Ohayocon. Our little group included my brother and best friends and somehow we convinced one of the moms to drive us all the way to this random hotel and drop us off with a little cash and a disposable camera. I had cut up a red jacket and crudely hand sewn on the white accents. I made my mom buy me a spray on hair color and very poorly applied it to the front of my hair. The one thing I splurged on was the headband, but it wasn’t even the right color because I could only afford the cheap smaller version that only came in blue.
I remember being SO awkward and uncomfortable around so many people, but there was this little part of me that was ecstatic to be near so many fellow weirdos. It was definitely the Era of Naruto and I met so many fellow Sakuras (not that many since it was also the Era of Hating Sakura) and got to be part of the Naruto cosplay photo.
In 2020 meanwhile, Naruto just isn’t as cool anymore. There are no group cosplay photos anymore and if there are, there are characters I don’t really know (my secret is I never finished the series oops). Despite all that, I met an awkward teenage group Naruto cosplay, complete with a Sakura. I felt so much love and joy for this kid who was both younger than me and dressed like a younger version of the character we were cosplaying. I also felt extremely old, like I’ve been cosplaying Sakura since before you were born! But we both shared a joy for a character with pink hair, that was kind of annoying in the beginning and suffered from weeb sexism.
That little girl in 2006 was experiencing a Moment that would influence me forever. She experienced pink hair for the first time, which would become my hair color for the majority of my college career. She eventually found community in geeky bullshit and would no longer hide her passions and interests. She discovered a love for creating and sewing and styling.
This was a very quick and easy costume for me, but occasionally as a cosplayer you get the most satisfaction from the vibes rather than the more complicated design. 🌼
Dropout Daisy 