YOU, yes, you!  Have you ever found something so cool, so amazing, so, you?  Something you like, no, LOVE, something you can see in your mind all the time, something you just need?  That’s how a collection starts.

A collection is something you take interest in, like, let’s say seashells.  You think they’re cool, so you might have a shelf filled with different seashells.  Maybe one’s from your Grandma’s home on the beach.  Maybe ones from your trip to the beach. Whatever it is, or however much you like that special ‘thing’, that’s what your collection is about.  Mine, however, is pigs.

Why would I collect pigs?  What’s so special about them?  Well, really, I don’t know. Whatsoever.  I started collecting pigs when I was really young.  I collected them because I thought they were interesting, but then it turned into more than just a few pigs.  And as any typical collection, when people notice it, they give you more of that something.

Usually on Christmas is when I would get more pig-related things.  But sometimes I’d get them from vacation, some from traveling, and even some from my (close) friends’ trips.  But that happens with any collection.  It turns from you collecting that “thing” personally, to your close friends and family getting them for you whenever they see it.  When people see something related to your collection, they think of you.  For me, whenever my close friends see a pig keychain,  they’d get it for me and say, “Zach, I thought of you when I saw this!” So then I thank them, maybe give them a hug, and put on a happy smile. That might just be the fastest way to grow your collection.

My collection has turned out to be very big.  If you give yours a few years’ time it too will grow big.  In total I’ve collected over 40 pig related items; most are gifts from others.  The best thing about collections, or at least in my opinion, is showing off the collection.  When it grows really big and grand, that’s when it gets interesting.  So when you have a lot of that thing,  you can show how many of that thing you have, how many different ones; there’s really limitless possibilities.

Why I chose pigs to collect is still a mystery to anyone, even me.  But, collecting special “somethings” can be a big part in your life.  Like how I collect pigs is a big story to tell.  But a collection isn’t just about telling stories of how you started collecting that special something, or what and where you’ve collected that thing.  It’s about what you think of your collection.

-Zachary Dumlao