The collector

We are all collectors of some kind. Whether we collect stamps, postcards, stories, experiences, things or people, we just love to have some sort of personalized exhibition to enjoy whenever we wish, and share with whomever we please.

Some of us do it consciously, others let nature take its course and live their lives while the collection grows by itself and they just wake up one morning and realize it’s there.

Collectors of people are the most interesting kind. They go through life acting as though they have dozens of different shelves, with boxes and jars and pantries with nooks and crannies filled with all the people that they’d ever crossed paths with – or swords, or hearts – and they can just pick one up and use him (or her) exactly when and how they desire. I think I’ve been in one of those collections myself. Alas, I managed to escape.

My own collection, I should say, is not necessarily the enjoyable kind. It’s more of the kind that you just want to put away somewhere and maybe forget about it altogether, but that’s not really possible. I collect fuckups. Of the human persuasion. Well, I used to, anyway. I seemed to have an unfathomable capacity to attract fuckups, and ultimately get fucked up in the process. Which is probably why I ended up having an incredibly low self-esteem and being scared of so many things I can’t even remember them all, until they hit me in the face.

Now that I think about it, I was probably wrong.

I collect fears. Even worse, I think they collect me.

Here's to all of them: