Collector

This is a chapter from my fifth book called Freedom

The quintessential collector. Have you witnessed one in your lifetime? These are collectors who embody the very essence of collecting. They are passionate, knowledgeable, and dedicated to their pursuit. I admire the commitment. I feel the passion. I am drawn to being a part of this. Why do people collect things? Certainly this is great as a hobby and gives you all the benefits of a hobby. If done correctly I suppose. Stress relief and mental well-being, learning new things, may involve physical health, then there is social connection and personal growth and accomplishment. Collecting things is a way of creating memories. For example some people who travel collect fridge magnets from the places they visit. Each magnet represents part of their personal map and a souvenir of the soul. Something to cherish and hold on to. The collector is making history and owns part of history. I figure it is linked back to our hunters and gatherers past.

I imagine being a collector gives the collector some form of freedom. Freedom of expression. Freedom to see value in the things they collect. Freedom to have something that defines who they are. Collectors are the curators of their own mini-museums. I read where Frida Kahlo said, "The freedom to collect liberates my spirit. It allows me to surround myself with objects that inspire creativity and ignite my imagination." I am seriously considering starting some type of collection. I do use the mymind app to collect interesting things I come across on the internet. But I do not know if that counts. I like the idea of collecting bottle caps. That is readily available and easily manageable and interesting. I could even document this online. And it gets me interested in trying new drinks and other bottled products. I already have a small collection of books so that is another option. My grandma (not my real one) Gwendolyn Stanford had a stamp collection. Some really old ones too. Wish I still had some of the stamps that I took from the collection. My neighbors in San Fernando growing up were stamp and coin collectors. In secondary school I had a small collection of basketball cards. The Chicago Bulls was my favorite team. I love and remember the thrill of opening a new pack of cards. You have to remember in those days we did not have the internet or smartphones. The offline world was where we found ourselves.

The art of collecting has been studied and there are even courses on the topic. Collections can create heirlooms. Collections can become really valuable over time. You become a member of a community of collectors that share a common interest. I started to watch a youtube video that counted down the twenty most weird collections. I stopped at the collection of toenails clippings. World records are even created from collecting things like the largest private cookbook collection with 4,239 books. There is a facebook group of local stamp collectors and I asked the question, "Why did you start collecting stamps?" One person said she grew up in it. Another person said her aunt worked in the Dutch embassy and that presented as an opportunity. Another person said her dad was the postmaster and encouragement came from him. Another person wanted to be a collector like his grandfather. What would be my reason for starting that bottle cap collection? I think I would like the freedom it brings. I would be stepping outside my comfort zone. It would bring new experiences. Maybe as a book writer I am already a collector. A collector of words. A book is a collection of words and stories. Collectors are as much storytellers as book writers. We are similar in that sense also.