58. Interview: Angelica Rizzo

Intro: I have always wanted to do written interviews with “people who seem ordinary, but are actually fascinating and interesting people”. This is my first of many potential interviews, here I present to you a full fledged written interview between me and my long time friend Angelica. I always found her to be a super interesting and fun person, as well as a pleasure to be around. In this interview, we will briefly delve into her life, experiences, and her passions. Just for reference I will be the one asking the questions, and she will be answering them. Let’s get started!

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1. Questions: Lets start with Introductions! What is your full name, as well as your online username?

Answer: Angelica Rizzo, but “Gel” is preferred. I don’t like people who are not close friends or family to call me by my given name.

2. Questions: What made you agree to do this interview? Have you ever done something like this before?

Answer: I have not done something like this before, I agreed to do this interview because you are my friend and I want to support your blog business. When you told me about this direction you wanted to go with your work, I was happy and excited for you. I’m honored you thought of me to join it as well.

3. Questions: Can you tell us a little about your past? Mostly younger childhood, including where and when you were born? 

Answer: Born and raised in San Pedro, nothing exciting there. Grew up poor taking care of my siblings. Parents divorced when I was 7 and dad married my step mom shortly after. It was hard and I definitely had some falling outs with my parents time to time, also my siblings and I didn’t always get along because of that as well. I moved out when I was 17 to graduate at a different high school, because I felt like if I had stayed in San Pedro I would have went down a bad path that would not have lead to success or happiness.

4. Questions: Okay let’s keep going a little deeper, of course taking into account what you are comfortable sharing. Did you have a typical normal happy childhood or would you say you had a rough upbringing?

Answer: It was not always sunshine and rainbows that is for sure, growing up poor I was definitely the target of bullying because of it. I was also an “early bloomer” when it came to physical development, which added another target to my back. There were times where I went hungry and my house had no running water or electricity. There were times where I refused to go home because my parents didn’t understand my feelings or my siblings made me frustrated, and I needed time away from them. There were even times where I just didn’t go to school, because I didn’t want to deal with the teasing.

5. Questions: Were there any adversity’s that you had to deal with growing up? How did they affect you back then? (Poverty, abuse, disabilities, family issues, etc..)

Answer: Definitely all of that. It hurt back then, but it was my normal so I didn’t know how to react to it. I just did the best I could do day by day and try to get myself out of it. It still affects me till this day because it made me learn how to prevent my life from getting to that point again. I learned to look for better people to have in my life, it definitely helped me notice a lot of red flags to avoid when looking for friends and my partner. It also showed me how bad I can end up if I allow myself to give up and not try to improve myself.

6. Questions: How did you overcome all of the adversity’s or problems that you had growing up? Also how else did they mold who you are today?

Answer: It was hard but I made myself leave, I cut contact with everyone that encouraged me to ditch, drink and do various other negative things. I left my school to transfer to a stricter one that had a harder graduation requirement, I forced myself to take my education more seriously and focused mainly on that. It was because I wanted to graduate on time and at least be able to say I got my high school diploma. I found friends that were positive for me, who cared about my physical and mental state. They were friends that supported me and once I felt comfortable with myself, that was when I vowed to never be the negative person I was before. The only friends I kept in contact with when I moved, were friends I felt like were a positive influence to me and that I felt like they would not hold me back like the ones I left behind and cut contact with. Some say moving was an extreme move to make, but I needed a fresh start in a new place for my self reflection and for change to properly happen if I wanted to change for the better.

7. Questions: Last personal question. If you had to pick, what would you say was your life’s most darkest moment? Such as an event that pushed you to your absolute limit? (Example: Death of a cherished loved one, sickness, mental breakdown, etc..)

Answer: I have had good friends commit suicide, friends get gunned down for no reason, and friends who overdosed on drugs. I have seen pretty bad stuff happen in my life, that must have made me not want that for myself. I would ask myself: “Why am I allowing this to happen, when I deserve better?”. What may be surprising though was that it was not a singular bad event, that made me want to turn my life around. I was always surrounded by negative people and environments, it was all normalized to me. It was actually a good event that opened my eyes and showed me the kind of life I can have if I make the change. I taught myself how to love and care for myself, it also showed me how much crap I allow myself to go through. That good event was my first “healthy” relationship. We had open honesty, full trust, no alternative motives, neither of us being used, complete communication, and commitment. It was all those actions that should be normalized, that was missing in my life. It was experiencing all that positivity, that made me reevaluate everything I knew. The joy that I experienced made me want to keep it and never let go. It’s all definitely helped mold the person I am today, because now I always try my best to be the person I needed when I was a child. If the child version of me, met the current present day version of me, she would be happy and that is what I want.

8. Questions: Now let’s delve into to more positive stuff! You now have a family of your own, who does your immediate house hold family consist of? 

Answer: My immediate family consists of my boyfriend, my son, and I. My boyfriend and I, have been together since December 25, 2008. My son was born on the summer of 2010. My boyfriend is one of the reasons I’m who I am today and my son is another. I’m lucky and grateful to have both of them in my life.

9. Questions: What do you currently do for a living? What is your eventual dream job? (You can keep it general, you don’t have to say exact business names or addresses.)

Answer: I currently work retail and I have been in retail for a while. Oddly enough if I had the money to go back to school to do my dream job, my number one choice would be to take classes to eventually get into the mortuary business. I understand it’s a morbid career, but it’s always interested me. Also being a mortician is a career that no matter where I live, people in the field will be needed. I watch a lot of true crime and hospital shows, and while I can’t see myself solving cases or working in a hospital environment because of how stressful it looks. I can see myself helping a family in their time of need, and making sure their loved one gets their proper rest. That their bodies get the appropriate treatment and the best care possible. I know that my first choice seems out of left field, but my second choice for a career would be owning and running an animal sanctuary/rescue. I love having pets, so if I can give an animal a loving and healthy life, I would love to do that.

10. Questions: What is a typical normal day for you? What is routine for Angelica? 

Answer: My day begins when I wake up, get ready for work, wake up my son and my boyfriend as I leave to go to work. My boyfriend and son get ready and head to work/school respectively. After I finish at work, I’ll head home, tidy up what I can, and take a nap or get some gaming in when I need to. I will wait for my boys to get home, then we have dinner, then we go to bed and get ready to do it the next day. The only time the routine changes up is when we have a convention to go too. I also have knotts passes, and I try to take my son there at least once a month.

11. Questions: Now for the fun stuff! What are your hobbies you like do? Which one is your absolute favorite? 

Answer: I don’t really have a favorite hobby, because they are all something I spend time on. I do enjoy cosplay, video games, binging tv series, and reading. I also really enjoy board games and I play ‘Dungeons & Dragons’. There are some hobbies I want to get into, like cross stitching and knitting. Unfortunately I don’t have the time or resources to learn or start those hobbies up right now, so I’m just reading up on them first.

12. Questions: Cosplay is definitely something you love to do! What made you get into it in the first place? Whats the story?

Answer: I have always liked specific characters in video games, I looked up to them and I have always wanted to make myself look like them to show my appreciation. Also Halloween was always my favorite holiday and I could not really do it as a child because it is a really expensive hobby to have. But once I became an adult, I had adult money and freedom, and so I just lived out my dream and dressed like whomever I wanted too.

13. Questions: What keeps you doing cosplay? Also what are some of your favorite cosplays you have done?

Answer: What keeps me doing cosplay is the confidence it gives me. The love of the characters I dress up like. My boyfriend and family being so supportive. Not to mention my friends I have made in the community, keep me going. It’s nice to be surrounded by like minded people who have a love and appreciation for the characters and fandoms that you have. I do love and adore all of my cosplays, because I only cosplay characters I like. My favorite cosplay so far is my ‘Waluigi’ outfit, mainly because it is really comfortable to do and it was also my cheapest cosplay I have done. It is allot of fun to get into character and I have received so much positive feedback at conventions. It is truly awesome to be known as “The Waluigi Girl”, and I love giving praise to what I feel like is the most underrated Mario character.

14. Questions: Have you made allot of friends and connections doing cosplay? Are any of them famous or very well known?

Answer: I have friends that are professional voice actors and actors that were in shows and movies we watched growing up, I know allot of people in that industry. I also know people who have millions of followers on social media, and actively monetize their cosplay. I also know people who have worked on big title video games, whom have worked with various actors I look up to. I have friends who work a day to day job like me, and live paycheck to paycheck, as well as people who come from literal wealth. I know people who have their own business, or much like you that have their own blog and website. I don’t really look at numbers when I meet people, I just go for the vibes. All the friends I have are dear to me, I talk to them and hang out with them because they are sweet and I love their vibes. I can say some are “famous” or “well known”, but to me they are just my friends. I won’t name drop because personally I don’t like to “show off” and make myself look bigger then I am because of who I know. Also they are human just like the rest of us, so I feel bad when they have stories of creeps or people who try to use them for their “fame” or “wealth”. No one deserves to go through that and I will absolutely hate myself if I feel like I contribute to those feelings in any way. Besides I tend to forget they are “famous”, until I see their name on something and I’m like “oh yeah I know them”. 

15. Questions: What would you say is the greatest benefit to doing Cosplay? What is the best part of it?

Answer: Allow me to re-emphasize, it really does give you a major confidence boost. For me personally since I only cosplay characters I love, I can really get into character and vibe off of the feeling. Also it’s such a blast, you can pretend it’s Halloween and be as casual or elaborate as you want. You can customize it to be more like yourself or you can be true to the character and be spot on. I’m a believer of “cosplay is what you make it”, and you can be a casual closet cosplay or a movie accurate cosplay and still look and feel amazing. Also you do meet people that have the same hobbies and interests as you do in the community, and you can build good and meaningful friendships.

16. Questions: What would you say are the negatives of doing Cosplay? Also what was the worst experience(if any) you had doing cosplay?

Answer: You do occasionally, get creeps and people who won’t take no for an answer. When I wear my more revealing cosplay, I do get harassed and fallowed and people who try to touch me or put their arms around me without permission. It is really frustrating, but I’m very vocal when people are making me uncomfortable. You also get the people who forget you’re a human dressing up like a character and not the character themselves, that can get awkward and frustrating to deal with, but I feel like that is an issue with any community that involves larping. Also like with any community and gathering of people, there tends to be drama and clashing personalities, but it is easy to stay out of that. 

17. Questions: Lastly for cosplay. Would you recommend Cosplaying to anyone interested in doing it? What advice would you like to give any people new into the hobby?

Answer: I absolutely would recommend it to everyone. My advice would be start small and cosplay characters that mean a lot to you, then build your confidence up so you can get more elaborate and crazy with it. You will need to get out of your comfort zone time to time, but baby step it and work your way up. I still struggle with some things (wigs are my personal hell), but sometimes bitting the bullet and saying “fuck it ima do it anyway” helps. Also this one is specifically for minors, do not grow up fast. There are plenty of cosplays that are not overly sexual and revealing, that you would look amazing in and get a lot of positive feedback in. Don’t put yourself in dangerous situations and stick woth parents or guardians when at cons, some of the convention weirdos are problems because they target minors specifically. For the most part like I said before, cosplay is what you make it, I started off as a closet cosplay and a Spirit Halloween costume person. 

18. Questions: Did you want to shout out anyone, any links, or anything else? Or Maybe make an announcement or show preview of a future endeavors? Here’s your chance to do it! 

Answer: I really only use my Instagram and I have a link on that social that connects to any other links I use (it’s mainly my Amazon wishlist incase anyone wants to support my cosplay adventures). As for future endeavors, at the time of this writing, I will be at Wondercon in Anaheim March 29-31. Then I will be attending Fanime in San Jose May 24-27, that will be my first year attending that one, so I’m super excited. I will also be at Anime Expo in Los Angeles July 4-7. If anyone attends and sees me, feel free to stop by and say hi. I always post my cosplay line ups the week before the convention and I share it to my story the day before. As well as I always share to my story what I am wearing the day of. I love good vibes and I like to meet people and chat. *(Author’s Note: Angelica’s link will be at the bottom of the interview for everyone to check out!)

19. Questions: Now for some post-interview questions for flavor! What did you think of this interview in general? Did you think we pretty much covered everything or was there something we missed you wanted to share?

Answer: Anything that involves you, my dearest friend, is always amazing and good. I really liked this interview, it was interesting to really think about how I will reply and to really dig deep and elaborate on what I want to say. I really hope I gave at least some insight on the cosplay community and who I am as a person. I guess I would like to add a small random fun fact I can share with you all, is that I’m left handed. 

20. Questions: What do you think of my Blog website and my blogging venture as a whole, whats your opinion on it all? Also is there anything you would like to see from it going forward? (Example: more of the usual stuff, more new ideas, more interviews, expand into other fields, more collabs, videos, etc..)

Answer: I do love to read and I feel like there is something about the structure of a blog, that gives me the good nostalgia. I do think the world leans more towards vlogs, and I would love to see some of those as well. I would also love to see other collaborations too, maybe a blog about trying something you normally would not do, your experience and opinions on that (hint cosplay hint). I love when people share their experiences with stuff they try.

21. Questions: We go back a long time, since Middle School.. Here’s an interesting one! What were your first impressions of me? What about me do you like as a friend and why personally do think we have stayed friends for so long? :)

Answer: To be honest you were some kid that was in all my classes until we got to actually talking and we realized we had a lot in common. I thought you were a homie and super cool to chill with. Now you’re one of my dearest friends and I really cherish that we were able to remain friends for so long, because not a lot of people have privileges of saying they have friends like that. I think we have this connection because we just vibe so well. We understand life gets busy and even if we don’t talk for a while, we still carry on like we see each other every day. We check in with one another time to time, and we just have so many similar interest’s to stay engaged with one another’s life stories. But at the same time, we have enough differences to share new experiences and the ability to always stay fun and interesting to each other. I hope this makes sense.

22. Questions: Last, but not least! Are we going to see you back on here someday? Would you be willing to do another collab in the future? (Be it a second Interview or some other fun idea we come up with!)

Answer: I’m always open to collaborating with people and I always have time for you. You are so dear to me and I love to be able to help and support what you want to do, in any way I can. If you ever decide to step into the cosplay community and try your luck with that, let me know and I can definitely help you. (Hint hint) *(Authors Note: Haha we will see Gel, maybe we can work something out in the future! Perhaps I’ll try out a few cons with you first, like we talked about. I’m always game to try new things!)

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Outro: That is all for this interview! Absolutely incredible! Let us all give a round of applause and a giant thank you to one of my best friends Angelica Rizzo! She knocked it out of the park! It was definitely a pleasure to finally work with you, I have been planning on doing this interview idea for quite a few years now! So I’m very glad to have at long last finally made it happen! There are more interviews to come! Hopefully we will see you on here again soon! Let’s see what we can come up with again, for the readers in the future! Again, thank you! Love you Gel.. Until next time my best buddy! 

*Also thank you to her boyfriend Marce for talking all the amazing cosplay pictures presented here! You are an amazing photographer! 

**If you are a public figure and you want to be interviewed or know of a public figure who wants to be interviewed, feel free to contact me and we can discuss the details of a potential interview! I’m open to all serious collaborations. 

***For anyone interested in following Angelica, to keep up to date with her current and future ventures. Her link is provided below for anyone to follow! 

Link: https://www.instagram.com/a_wild_gel_appears?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr