My second Toastmasters speech:
Collectors and what
they collect fascinates me. But why we collect interests me even more,
because collecting, I would argue, is directly linked to our sense of identity.
Our collections tell us much about who we are, how we see ourselves, and who we
want to be. I’d like to explore this idea from a few different angles, which
I’ll call memory, value, method, and identity.
Memory is a powerful
motivator when it comes to collecting. What we collect often reminds us of something,
somewhere, someone, or sometime. For many of us,
collections are often linked with a sense of nostalgia – for another time in
one’s own life, or for another era altogether. The Teddy Bear collector, for
example, might associate her collection with a beloved relative, or a fond
memory from childhood. Or there’s the person who collects a T-shirt from every
place he’s traveled, as a way of capturing his memories of each location.
My penguin collection
includes figurines acquired as recently as last month, yet my collection will
always have a link to my childhood, which is when I first started collecting
penguins. And each penguin has its own story and memory associated with it. So,
physical objects seem to connect us, particularly collectors, to other people,
places, and times in very powerful and positive ways.
The memories associated with
our collections are clearly quite compelling, but so are the other ways in
which we place value on our collections. For some, collecting is a very serious
matter, and the collectible objects can be quite valuable, as is the case with
the fine art collector, whose investment in her collection can be quite
considerable. For others, the monetary investment is far less important than
the personal value of the collection. Or perhaps it’s a bit of both. I’m
thinking of Linda’s “sacred stash” of quilting fabrics that is so precious to
her.
The very method or process
of collecting itself – the hunt and acquisition of rare antiques, for example –
captivates others. Collectors may spend countless hours researching, seeking,
and acquiring their objects of desire. And each collector has his or her own
goal related to their collection – which is not always to complete the
collection, although completing a set can be quite satisfying for a collector.
My goal over the past few
years has actually been to slow the expansion of my collection by weeding out
penguins I am no longer attached to, and fine-tune my collection to include
penguins made of glass, stone, and metal, as opposed to plastic or
stuffed-animal penguins.
I am particularly interested
in the way collectors often have their own so-called rules for their
collection. What qualifies as an appropriate object for one’s collection? A
vintage book collector might only look for first editions, or only books of a
specific genre or by a particular author.
In my case, I developed a
very clear idea of what sorts of penguins were acceptable for my collection –
realistic rather than cutesy. And this developed over a period of time for me,
in part as a reaction to another common phenomenon in collecting – what I call
the externally imposed collection. This is when other people acquire
collectibles for us. In my situation, people started collecting penguins for
me, whether I would have chosen them or not. It took years to wean friends and
family off the habit.
When people collect for us,
it’s because they identify us with our collections. Which leads me to my final
point about collecting – how our identities are connected to our
collecting. A collection can define
something about our personalities, our longings, and our ideals. It may set us
apart from others or make us feel unique. While he may have much in common with
other collectors, the antique glass bottle collector, for example, feels a
sense of pride about his collecting niche, and he differentiates himself from,
say, the Beanie Baby collector.
Conversely, there can be a
feeling of camaraderie about being a particular kind of collector. Star Trek
memorabilia collectors probably enjoy their group identity and feel a sense of
connection to others who collect the same genre and share a similar passion.
The same might be said about stamp collectors, coin collectors, doll
collectors, and so on.
Finally, I think that what
we collect or what we wish we could collect says something, too, about whom we
want to be. If I had the means and the space, I would love to be an art
collector. I would collect art made by artists whom I know and I would collect
art that I find beautiful, intriguing, or inspiring. I’d love to hear what you
would collect if you had no limitations. I hope you chose to share with me you
collecting dreams.
Collecting
is a very broad topic and I’ve only just touched on a few ideas. I wouldn’t go
so far as to say that you are what you collect, but I will certainly
argue that who you are and what you collect are interconnected, that the stuff
with which we surround ourselves bears a direct relationship to our sense of
self.
