Figuring out who I am & Enjoying Cosplay
I never know how to start these things, because I don't know if I should keep it long or short like me. My name is Asta Young, I'm 24, and I was born in Hong Kong. I was born with dwarfism, but unlike many others, I never knew the type of dwarfism I was born with. I grew up overseas, and didn't come out to the United States untill about seven years ago. Growing up I had no one my level that I could relate with (literally haha), because my parents are both average sized, and I knew no one else with my condition. It took a lot to find myself and figure out who I am. I got picked on and didn't have too many people who would take me seriously besides my family and some close friends, and in result I wasn't doing too well in school because I was so focused on trying to figure out myself and making others happy.
Finding myself & Discovering Self-Expression Through Cosplay
Fast forward a couple years, overtime I just stopped letting it identify who I am. The more you focus on the negativity, the more you attract it. I remember used to care so much about the way people would look, stare, and laugh at me. I paid TOO much attention to that. One day I just realized I didn't need to let that bring me down. Positive thoughts attract positive energy, and that is exactly what happened. I focused my time painting and being happy. I stopped caring or even realizing when people were staring at me, and with that, I noticed less and less people staring, and the more confident I grew. From that, I brought my grades back up, graduated university on the Deans list and continued my art career. I've always been an artist so I got back into what I enjoy doing and I enjoy painting every day. When you are yourself and you stop letting others define you or affect you, you mold into who you are meant to be. I found love, and now happily married to a man that loves me for me and doesn't see me differently. I then took my love for art and molded it into a career that I love now. I've always been a huge geek my entire life, and now I love being an artist that paints geek art & love being a cosplayer. I love cosplaying as characters that are similar to my height, and enjoy being in such an amazing community every time I'm at a comic convention. There is just something about being comfortable with who you are and taking control of it. Cosplaying has given me the additional confidence I love, and I absolutely enjoy releasing my inner geek and bringing my favorite characters to life. I feel like once you overcome that boundary and believe in yourself, anything can happen. I know that sounds cheesy (believe me, I know I'm pretty corny), but it is simple facts. Don't forget to love yourself because we were all born this way for a reason. If you think about it, I may be little, but compared to the galaxy as a whole, we are all little. It is all about the perspective in life, I just happen to be living on the short side ;)
