By: Caribean

My first convention was Cactus Con right here in sunny Phoenix in January of 03, the year after I built my original Slave Leia.  Being my first convention, I was really nervous. I made my brother go in first to see if other people were in costume, so I would be more comfortable in mine.  When I finally went in, the first group to greet me was the 501^st Dune Sea Garrison whom I was already great friends with.  They marveled over the fact that I made my costume and asked when I would make one to join the 501^st. I don’t think I was ready for that just yet.  I walked around a little, saw a few exhibitors and just took in the con.  I ran into this group of guys who weren’t in costume and they spent about 5 minutes on their knees shouting “we’re not worthy” and attracting more attention to me than I was sure I wanted at the time.  I spent the rest of the day hanging out with the Garrison and having my picture taken with children of all ages.  It was like a shot of confidence in the arm and I haven’t been nervous wearing the bikini or any costume since!