Collecting things

When I was young I used to collect stamps. It started with letters sent to my father by his relatives in China. I collected the stamps on the envelopes. Later, in the same way, I collected stamps from my sister's oversea pen-pals. I also collected first day covers on suggestion from a friend. However, I was never serious about collecting stamps. I stopped the hobby after some years.

Then I collected coins – commemorative coins issued by the Singapore Mint. Again, not really passionate about it. I have stopped collecting coins. 

Here is  one of the coins - a 1976 $10 silver proof coin with the picture of a ship on one side.

Next, I started collecting Cantonese opera magazines. After a few years I had a few dozens of them. They take up space and you need to take care of them so that they remain in good conditions. I have stopped buying them regularly.

We read about people collecting things – dolls, toys, clocks, posters and so on. Some spend a lot of money on their collections and have hundreds and thousands of the things they collect. It can be a joy but I think it can also be quite stressful taking care of them.

If you collect things like wine or art pieces, maybe you can drink your wine or sell your collections or give them to your children when you lose your passion for them. But for clocks or opera magazines, I guess you can only give them to others who have the same interest.