A different kind of post

This post is inspired by a conversation in the movie The Devil Wears Prada (which I do actually recommend, lots of deep stuff if you let yourself go there)

Some mysteries will never be solved. One of those mysteries is why people have the hobby of collecting things. Some of these compulsions are truly materialistic, while others don't seem to have any evident explanation.

For example, many people collect elements of fashion. Joe's brother Jim collects watches, and has more than I can count, something I thought was a little strange, but I don't think I have much room to talk. I have never deemed myself a very girly girl except for two things, one of which I'm not sure I've ever divulged to anyone: shoes and purses. Last time I counted, I had at least 35 pairs of shoes, ranging from All-Stars (or Chucks or whatever the hell they're called now) to high heels to Birkenstocks. My father and I compete to see who between the 2 of us can bring the fewest pairs of shoes on a given family trip. Sadly, I only sometimes lose. Tonight, I did an official count of the number of purses I own: 9. One of which has never been used as I pulled the paper out of it tonight (I've owned it for at least 2 years). This is a very stange compulsion that I was not totally aware I had because I carry one purse for a couple months at a time unless a formal event pops up. So unfortunately, I have no answer to the question "why do women need so many shoes/purses?"

An even more disturbing collection compulsion is the people who have to surround themselves with many people at all times. One of the girls who graduated the Master's program with me was very much like this: always needing to have people around her, but everyone saw through her and no one seemed to really like her. Oh, and don't get me started on the number of guys she had on speed dial. She is continuing her education at USF, and she's going into a program where her reputation of being a fake person precedes her. It's disturbing and sad as well.

Similar yet somewhat different are the people who feel they have to "collect" drama around them. I think everyone knows someone whose life story is more dramatic than fiction, and some of them bring the drama on themselves. I remember watching Another World with my mother when I was young. One of the characters was the mistress of a powerful politician, and one day, her mother looked her dead in the eye and said "if he's cheating on his wife with you, what makes you think he's not going to cheat on you if he's with you?" I think quite often people need a sense of drama around them to feel like they're accomplishing in their life.

So look around you. What is it that you collect? Is it a compulsive habit or just a hobby? Is it purely materialistic or does it symbolize something psychological or emotional that's going on with you?

This has been an experiment to try a different kind of blog post. Please let me know if you enjoyed it. If you did, then maybe I shall try to do this more often.