As long as people have existed, they have collected different items. Years ago, they would only gathered food and other necessities needed for survival. Now, people collect whatever items seem to give them pleasure or joy such as sewing machines or train horns or what thigns they think will earn them a profit in the future like expensive works of art. Being a collector of something is a little hobby to some or an all encompassing profession to others. There are all different types and levels of collectors. in rare cases collectors become obsessed and this turns into the illness of a hoarder.
There are many ways to be a collector and some people start when they are only little children. If you inquire with any man in his 40’s or 50’s if he collected baseball cards as a boy, a large number will probably say yes. Many times kids get involved in a phase or something that is trendy or popular at the time and this turns into collecting. Another example of kids collecting the latest phase or toys are the beanie babies or the Pokemon and Yu-gi-oh cards. These were the items for children to have at one point and a lot of children became collectors of them until the trend disappeared.
Because so many kids become interested in having a small collection of something at some point, this creates some people to become collectors as adults. For most of those kids, their collections fade away as they grow and mature but for others, collecting becomes something they have to become a part of. People usually collect items that they are interested in, whether it is sports memorabilia of their hometown team or works of art by a particular artist.
What bagan as a hobby for a lot of people, can also become a lucrative profession as well. The people that are very passionate about collecting things, do everything they can to become educated on that particular collectible. This can be a valuable resource for businesses that deal in collectibles by hiring a person that is so knowledgeable about a particular thing. This can result on being hired by a big auction company such as Sotheby’s or by starting their own business buying and selling certain collectibles or antiques, for example.
For some people, collecting and holding onto things become a mental illness known as hoarding. People that hoard need to constantly attain things whether it is by shopping or even digging through others trash. It may be clothes or it can even be food but the main problem of a hoarder is that they never get rid of anything and find an emotional attachment to every item that comes into their home. Eventually the residence is filled from floor to ceiling with stuff that becomes a health hazard. A mental health professional is the only person who can help a hoarder to regain a normal life again where they will not fill an emotional hole in their life with stuff.
