31 Day Blog Challenge: Day 19

Today’s post is: What do I collect?

I don’t really collect anything! If pushed I’d say I collect books, but I’m a bookworm anyway and if I want to read something, I’ll get it, so it’s not really collecting in the traditional sense of the word. I do have a lot of fashion books, a sub-collection within the main book collection, I suppose, but no, I don’t collect stamps or anything like that.

I used to be a collector. I used to collect Transformers and My Little Pony toys, but this stopped in 2013 when I got sick and underwent a huge life evaluation. While lying in bed feeling like my world had stopped, I realised that I’d been buying these ridiculous little plastic figures because I needed a security blanket, something to hang on to, and I had, for some reason, chosen the toys of my childhood. So when I was better and did a massive purge of my room, I donated or sold most of them. Some I’ve kept because they’re worth a bit, and I’ll eBay the more unusual and rare ones eventually, but they’re packed up and not taking up shelf real estate in my room anymore. I don’t have much room anyway, I’d rather fill it with useful stuff rather than plastic tat from my childhood.

At least with books they get read, and re-read, so they’re not a waste of money and space (although apparently I have ‘too many’ books and need to ‘go through’ them and ‘get rid’ of some of them – how about no?). Looking around my room now, I can see one thing that’s purely ornamental, without any use, and it’s a statue from Austria that my grandma gave me. So it’s a sentimental thing, I didn’t buy it to get a warm fuzzy feeling from the act of purchase or because I have a weird obsession with the Lindwurm. It was a gift. I get a warm fuzzy feeling because my grandma gave it me.

So no, I don’t really collect. But you can call my bookshelf a collection, if you’d like!