In all my life, especially as a little kid, did I ever think I would say I have con burnout. Yup, that’s right. I have “don’t want to go to another con for 3-5 months please”, I just don’t have the energy or the mental energy to do it all over again and again and again. This is the year it finally caught up to me and punched me in the face. This is hilarious because I had a severe concussion last year and would not give up flying and attending some of the biggest, stressful conventions. I even put up fights to still attend tiny conventions as well, instead of trying to speed up my recovery by staying in bed. I’m basically that crazy convention correspondent.
This year, going into Dragon Con I was tired. And I mean tired. There were quite a few times I thought about canceling my trip and not going (but it was too tempting to get away from my day job), but there was still the part of me that was jumping up and down in excitement for that con. I’m happy I went, I had a great time. I just did not take into account how much recovery I needed to get back to my normal on the go self. I had about four days, but in reality it was three full days. The first day I’m taking away from the four to make it three, is the day I flew back. No sleep on the plane, left early morning, time traveled back in time and only went to bed (finally passed out) at around 6pm (and waking back up at 8pm for more food). I didn’t sleep much the rest of the days off, waking up first thing in the morning and so on. Then BAM! Time for another convention.
Now, I don’t hate conventions. I still love them, but I need a break. I just want to chill out, work on some bigger cosplay projects for next year and enjoy “me time”. There’s only so much social battery one person can have. I also want to plan out the conventions I want to attend next year, I want to be picky and go to the ones I always have a great time at and love. I also want to finally go to a few that have been on my dream con list for many years, Anime Expo being one of them. That one I’m already planning (a good year in advance), and Anime NYC. I know I will be getting fomo from watching socials on the ones I decided not to attend or have to miss out on, due to what conventions I did choose over them. But, you can’t have everything.
After doing two back to back conventions this September in two weekends, one being a five day and the other being a three day. They just took everything I had left in me, but yes by this second con I had to be completely fueled by boba tea. Full strength sugar and caffeine, not usual for me. Yes, I drink boba when I get the chance but I don’t drink caffeine regularly. If I had caffeinated boba or just straight up sugary boba tea everyday? I would be a crazy person, constantly going and not giving the things in life the time and focus they need. I can honestly see myself writing crazy nonsense articles and speeding through projects, before crashing face first into my bed at six pm everyday (or I would be wide awake going down endless rabbit holes).
I am happy that we are in the final stretch of the year currently, just this last month to go. I’ve chosen not to attend anymore conventions this year, and yes there is one more coming up in my area (but I actually said no for once to a convention). Just taking this time to work on my convention list, cosplay plans and mainly focusing on more articles for you all to enjoy (see the goodwill here guys?). I also hope the last month of this crazy year goes well for the rest of you, and that you are also able to work on some long forgotten projects (and take some much needed personal time to yourself too).
How was your convention experience for 2024? Feel free to leave a comment below or chat with us on Twitter/X at @TheConCollectve, Threads at @theconventioncollective, or Bluesky at @theconcollective.bsky.social
We’re always looking for new writers that are truly passionate about stuff – we give you the review materials, the platform and the support to say what you feel from the heart. If you’d like to write opinion pieces about pop culture topics or reviews, reach out to us using the contact us form
