Childhood Collections

Barbies, stuffed animals, Pokémon cards, leaves, quarters, rocks. You name it, I collected it.

Okay, maybe I wasn’t that much of a curator when I was younger, but I did have certain collections of select objects.

It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but my first collection was Barbie dolls. I did not start collecting them as choice, however. When I was little, my birthday was quickly approaching one year, and my parents asked me what I would like as a gift. I told them that I wanted a Barbie. I think the decision of telling my parents that bit of information was one of the worst decisions I had made at the time. After that one birthday, I kept receiving more and more Barbies. Sure, I would play with them, and I had fun playing, but it started to get out of hand. Not only would my parents gift me Barbies for my birthday or Christmas, but my other relatives soon followed suit. I have a picture filed away in a photo album somewhere that shows me next to a whopping 20 Barbie dolls. Twenty. It’s not like I was obsessed, I just didn’t know how to stop the same gifts from coming every year.

Stuffed animals are partially the same story. Of course, what young girl doesn’t like stuffed animals? I loved them, and so I didn’t mind getting them as presents. My neighbor at the time, Retha, would give me stuffed animals not just for my birthday or Christmas. Should would give me them any time I saw her. Other people gave me stuffed animals as well, and my collection piled up on the shelves of my closet. I have stopped receiving those fuzzy creatures, but I still have a ton in my closet. I can’t bring myself to get rid of every last one because many hold such powerful memories that I can’t just throw away.

Pokémon became super popular among my peers, and I would see cards for sale in every store. So, just to feel like I was in the “in crowd,” I would ask my mom if I could have some. I started a mini collection of these cards not even knowing that there was a game behind it all or even that there was a TV show or Gameboy game. I simply collected them because I liked the pictures on the cards. I believe I still have them, but I never learned how to play.

Leaves were a collection started when I became more observant about nature. My mom told me that she used to collect leaves when she was young. So, I started a collection just to see what it would be like. I would find a cool-looking leaf on the ground, bring it in the house, press it for a few days, and put it into my collection binder. It was actually the same binder my Pokémon cards were in. Collecting leaves didn’t last long, and I think I only collected about 15. It was a lot of work!

I grew up a little more, and my interest switched to money. Not for the purpose of buying things, but for the purpose of collecting. I thought it was fascinating that each state had a unique quarter. As a present, I received a map of the U.S. that included slots to put each quarter for every state. I collected maybe half of them and then gave up because I wanted to use them, not collect them. However, in a way, I think I still collect quarters because I save more money than I spend. So, I suppose my collection of money will be a continuous process throughout life.

I started my rock collection when we moved to our new house in 2001. I would find interesting rocks and, for whatever reason, keep them in a basket on my dresser. One year for Christmas, I received a rock polisher kit, and that made my obsession escalade. I would collect and polish more rocks than my basket could hold. I soon had three baskets on my dresser, and I was so proud of each individual rock in that collection. Then, one day I just decided I didn’t want to collect rocks anymore. I still have one basket of my favorite rocks, but I haven’t collected or polished any since.

As you can see, as my interests changed when growing up, so did my collections. Some collections were inspired or maybe even forced upon me by those around me, and some where just an interest to me. Either way, I know I did collect things, and I know that it was a positive experience when growing up.

But do collections stop when we grow up?