I have just started to cosplay this year (2011). It is very interesting just to be closer to your favourite characters and it let me to feel like them. But it is just the very beginning...
And now little prehistory:
When I was a child my parents gave me a book : "Myths of Ancient Greece". I was crazy about it and about history and films like "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and "Xena: Warrior Princess". I started to study mythology and history of acnient world and culture, architecture. Then I saw Indiana Jones...I was impressed! I dreamed about adventures! And then at school my friend gave me a computer game..."Tomb Raider", so I was amazed and excited!
After school I entered Moscow State Linguistic University to study Culture Studies and Eastern Languages. Thats why I like Lara Croft so much, because I feel something like...a little similarity by our interests ))