One person’s trash is another person’s treasure

A collection is a group of things that have been gathered or collected and a collector is the name of the person who brings the items together into a group.

People collect different things for lots of various reasons – the most common one is for fun! For some it’s the thrill of finding something while searching in local thrift shops or antique stores. Others enjoy talking with other collectors. For others it’s all about displaying the collection. Collectors are rarely in it for the money; it’s the excitement of finding the rarest, most obscure things that makes being part of the collecting hobby so much fun.

There are thousands of different items collected by people all around the world. Some are ordinary, some are weird. The most common collections amongst youngsters are stamps, comic books, coins, action figures, marbles, pens and buttons.

Collecting is an old yet still popular hobby. For example, coin collecting has been around for ages and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere – at least not anytime soon. Since at least the 15th century, collectors have enjoyed the satisfaction of hunting down another coin to add to their growing collections. Doll collecting is another hobby that has traditionally been very popular and is still popular among people of different ages. Whether they collect popular Barbie dolls or prefer antique, handmade dolls, there is plenty to keep them entertained with this hobby.

Each item which is added to the collection has its own ‘story.’ Plus, in the process of collecting, the collector continues to learn more about the topic that he is interested in. As one is building a collection, he applies his skills in identifying, selecting, discriminating, evaluating, classifying and arranging items.

Those who view collecting as trivial or a waste of time, miss the connection that it has to not only life skills and but also occupational skills. For instance, scientists also collect things; they gather information, data, and samples. Museums and libraries are examples of collections. In fact, all of us go through our lives collecting and discarding things around us.

Adapted from blog.prepscholar.com