I have a strong belief that hobbies shape us as people, by teaching us life lessons, molding our personalities, or instilling positive behaviors into our daily lives.
How has collecting made you a better person?
Yes
Edit: Either I misread it or it was edited to include āHowā at the beginning of the question. But fine, Iāll elaborate. Collecting for me is used as a way to be more selfless. I stock my local areas libraries and youth centers with cards and accessories that are needed, Ive given away many cards on reddit, and I help spread factual knowledge about the history of the hobby as well as try keeping people from getting ripped off by fakes. I also have used it as a stress relief and an escape when life is a bit to overwhelming, which may not be the healthiest relationship with the hobby but it does allow me to get some time to organize myself before facing nonPokemon based life which allows me to be more measured in my decisions and responses.
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I am improving the practice of daily patience and empathy. Iāve only been able to purchase and open one English booster pack at retail this entire year thanks to all the scalpers, I mean, enthusiastic collectors and small business owners that suddenly emerged since end of last year.
cpbog1
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Acceptance and tolerance. I have come to accept the collecting space and all itās aspects ( desirable and undesirable) as part and parcel of being in this hobby. I also strongly believe that a majority of people involved speak / act out of passion and not out of malice.
I would like to believe it has made me kinder and empathetic to others opinions / actions even if it does not align with my beliefs and thinking. We are all just trying to collect cards.
Cheers!
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I would say that getting back into collecting quite heavily as an adult further increased my day to day gratitude mainly. Knowing that many out there are struggling in many ways and yet I have the immense privilege of being able to collect Pokemon cards and some of the best ones that anyone can get. So I feel very lucky overall, all things considered.
I also feel being part of this community and the collecting process has taught me a lot of things and has given me things to look forward to more and more. Itās always exciting to see new findings, new or on-going collection goals people have & achieve, and even some of the ādramaā can be entertaining for me at times.
Overall, I feel like thereās more of a āfamilyā vibe to E4 than many other other social networks/communities and so collecting has continually brought joy to my life in many ways and has kept me above water more times than not. You donāt always find that as easily in other places, and I hope it can remain this way for years to come.
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Only in the same way that forging a sword in a hotter oven makes a stronger blade.
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It hasnāt.
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I donāt know if it ever felt like the act of collecting a thing was ever much of a hobby āhabeeā. Iāve always collected SOMETHING my whole life. I started picking up every penny on the ground when I was 4. I donāt know if it has made me better. Its not like there is some skill involved that I feel like I have picked up or anything, but maybe it has.
I think watching the unhealthy habits of others, making me cringe for this or that reason as people come looking for some gold rush, makes me realize what I find good isā¦well unironically the friends we made along the way. Less envy over what others have, and more excitement with them has been fun.
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Iāve had several instances of my integrity being tested. Returning binders left behind by someone, people accidentally giving too much cash on a deal and returning the extra cash, cards getting mixed up in trades etc. But Iāve also had my share of similar things such as people coming back to pay me when they notice their payment didnāt actually go through on an earlier deal or misplacing my own binder and having it returned to me.
There are lots of sleaze bags in the hobby that I think get amplified because of their despicable behavior, but Iāve found the hobby is generally full of very generous and kind people.
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I cant think of how the hobby has made me a better person in modern times. I will say that Pokemon itself changed me at a younger age, and it did influence me from things I saw in the anime. The tcg itself though hasnt changed me. Its just fun overall.
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Hi there!
Personally, collecting allows me to escape from my daily life where I work a lot. But it also allows me to collect cards that I could never afford when I was young.
I didnāt have any cards, except for a few Iād been given.
Itās a return to a childhood I never knew.
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Honestly I love this topic. Here we go..
Before I became a father I was an absolute hoodlum. Born and raised on the southside of a Chicago Ghetto influence was strong. I was drinking 40oz malt liquor and smoking fat blunts of weed by the age of 13. I soon became a graffiti writer at the age of 14. By the time I was in high school I was a well seasoned vandal. I was a rebel of the system and an advocate of hiphop. It wasnāt long before I got my 16 year old girlfriend pregnant.
Upon becoming a father I quickly realized that I needed a job to support my newfound little family. I found myself hanging out less and focusing more on my kid and baby mother. Soon enough I wasnāt a teenager anymore I was in my 20ās. Trips to the liquor store became trips to the toy isle trying to find toys for my baby. It started with hotwheels and then elevated to nostalgic items like, POKĆMON.
Once my son and I started playing with said toys I would reminisce about my childhood; here came nostalgia. I found myself searching cards I never had as a kid and soon enough splurging to scratch that itch. I was in my mid twenties when the streets no longer had anything to offer, it was now my son and I against the world.
I rapidly expanded my seed growth and here came along my daughter. A dynamic little flower that we nicknamed BULBA due to her explosive nature. My little BULBA naturally became obsessed with all and every anime, a true fire cracker. It wasnāt long before I realized I was a full blown nerd. I dedicated my life to my kids and my kids only.
Upon watching my kids grow I also found myself becoming less and less interested in trouble. BOYS WE NOW HAVE A FULL BLOWN DAD IN OUR HANDS. I then found UPCCC which is now E4. I discovered things way beyond my understanding. Of course my obnoxious nature led me to troll all of you before I fell love with you.
I was rapidly getting fact checked and corrected by pioneers of the game such as SMPRATTE, MILHOUSE, FOURTHSTARTCG, FANZOOL, GARY and so on. But they taught me more than I can explain. I was now on LEVEL 100 POKEMON MASTER TCG COLLECTOR MODE; and I loved it.
The years went and the collection grew. I lost interest in the malice of my city and began staying home. After work drink sessions became eBay search hours. Money spent on drugs and liquor became PokĆ©mon investments. Talks about weed and hoes became ādid you ever collect PokĆ©mon growing up?ā
I naturally left the life of havoc and drama behind once I found POKĆMON again. I regained conscious of good morals watching the anime with my children and found happiness and bliss in a hobby that brought us peace.
Now Iām 32 years old, I go to work and go home, talk to my son and daughter about their days and ask if they finished PokĆ©mon origins yet. Itās a beautiful thing to clutch on to oneās childhood because like I always tell everyone around me āLIFE IS ABOUT DYING YOUNG AS LATE AS POSSIBLEā. Itās safe to say POKĆMON SAVED MY LIFE.
Never loose the kid within you,
āM
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Short and sweet is that itās taught me material possessions to buy happiness and no matter how much you scale up the mountain youāll still compare yourself to others.
COMPARISON IS THE THEFT OF JOY!!!
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I now empathize with the people on the show hoarders.
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^this
Collecting niche cardstock humbled the minimalist arrogance of my 20s and made me empathetic to the quirks of others
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