100 Ways

25. Start a collection

I don't know about you, but I have a lot of collections.

I didn't even mean to start collecting them. It just sort of happened. I had one of something and it gradually increased in quantity. I don't even know how many collections I truly have. Some I would qualify, some I wouldn't. Some I don't even think about.

I collect Ring Pop rings. So far I have three red ones, two blue, three yellow, one black, one pink, and one green. Not a lot but enough for me to think I have started a collections. And to top it off, I recently bought a box of almost fifty Ring Pops just so I could have all the rings. My tongue will suffer from a sugar overload but I find it will be completely worth it. I desperately want a purple and a white ring. I don't even know if they had those colors for Ring Pop rings but I just know I want them. I didn't know if they had a green ring until my most recent Ring Pop had a green ring. You could not even imagine my excitement when I found it.

I collect black eyeliner. Pens. Pencils. Liquid. Marker. You name it, I probably have it. It just has to be black eyeliner. And not that shit with the glitter in it. I went through a phrase around last year where I needed eyeliner all the time. It wasn't until recently when I discovered the numerous things I could do with bright colors. So now I have numerous black eyeliner everywhere. I still find eyeliner sticks in random places, not even remembering where I got them. So far, I've found six pencils, three pens, three liquid, and one marker. The marker eyeliner is my favorite. It's cleaner than liquid and far more easier to put on and to fix when I make a mistake.

I collect perfume bottles. I have seven so far. Four are mine, three are my mother's. Each bottle looks different from the others. All have a different scent. Only three are still filled. One has never been opened. I use Vera Wang's Princess every single day. The last one is the one my boyfriend bought me. It's more of a cologne than a perfume. He bought it along with a teddy bear for our first Valentine's Day together. The cologne is his. It smells exactly like him. I think I made extremely obvious that I adore the way he smells because I tell him he smells delicious every time I'm with him. He really does have the best smell in the world. I spray the teddy bear he gave me with his cologne every night before I go to bed. I hold the bear to my chest and I pretend he's there with me before I fall asleep. It's a nice feeling.

I collect Converse. Or I try to anyway, considering Converse shoes are somewhat expensive. I have two low tops: one pair is red and the other pair is yellow with polka dots on them. I have two high tops: one pair is all black and the other pair is black and pink. The latter are extremely old - I have had them for almost eight years. The pink tongue is brown from all the collecting dirt and the black has faded into a light gray. The toes are a permanent faded purple color from all the drawings I have placed them. There are several white polka dots all over the shoes. And I have one pair of the extreme high tops. The ones that lace up all the way to the knees. You could only imagine my frustration when I was attempting to lace them up only to find a zipper in the back of the shoes when I was finished. I told my family if I received them for my birthday I would scream. They didn't believe me. I think the neighbors from three doors down heard me when I opened my present.

Everything I collect has a story behind them. The two things they all have in common is that I can wear them all and I can recall a good memory with each and everyone one of them. Too many to remember them all but enough that I can name one each.

Collecting things keep me focused. I find it extremely hard to focus. My mind always wanders. I start something but end up doing something completely different. There was this one day that I remembered that I had to water the garden. While I was watering, I remembered there was a pater that my mom needed to sign. I went inside to get the paper when I noticed I needed more lined paper for school. I went to the kitchen to get the paper when I found the remote on the counter. I took the remote to the living room and noticed I had not cleaned up my homework papers. While taking my things to my room, I remembered that I needed to pick out my clothes for the next day. While picking out my clothes, I heard the shower dripping water, which made me thirsty. I went to the kitchen to get a drink when I remembered that I needed to water the garden. I went outside to do so to find that the hose was still running water from where I left it earlier.

I find it hard to focus.

My collections keep me focused. I stay determined to find another object that will correlate with the rest. I keep everything in some kind of order. By color, by size, etcetera. You can only imagine my CD collection. It's organized by worst to the best, then by genre, and then by artist. In that order. It took me a few hours until I was satisfied.

But it keeps me happy. While I'm focused on just one thing, I'm satisfied. I have no idea if collecting things will work with you. I have no way in telling what makes people happy. But it's up to you to try.

What's life without trying new things?