With college looming on the horizon (HILLTOPPERS BABY! WKU!), I've found myself contemplating the past almost as much as I've been contemplating the future. I've had the tearful goodbyes with the teachers whose classes I'll never take again and the students whose goofy antics I'll only have a month or so left to see. I've laid awake every night, just thinking about the man I've become. I wonder if that man will stay the same during college. Oddly enough, while a lot of my thoughts are the girls I've never talked to, or the great times I've had with my friends, one surprising thing my mind comes back to is collecting-and if I can keep doing it.

Now, let's be realistic-I highly doubt I can keep collecting in college. Between school work, a social life, and hopefully a job, I doubt I can find the time OR the space. I'll also have to budget my money carefully-toys are great, but eating is better. Finally, it'll be awkward explaining this to my roommate, or whatever girls I bring back to my room.

Which brings me to another part-I am a VERY insecure kid. Maybe everyone is insecure at my age, and they're just really good at hiding it, but damn it, I care way too much about my outward image. Only a SMALL group of my friends know I collect TF's, because I've always been afraid of being labelled as a "geek" and socially shunned. With any luck, that'll change as my age increases and my Give-A-Fuck decreases, but for now, it'll stay my dirty little secret.

So, with college, I plan on taking a break from collecting. My question to you guys is-have you ever taken a break from collecting? Did your interest die down over time? Did you get collecting blue balls, where you were so happy when you finally bought a new toy? If you've ever experienced this, please let me know.

I'll close with this-all of you guys kick major ass. I've been through a lot during high school-mainly this last year-but the one thing that was always there for me was Transformers. When I was getting my ass kicked and being teased in Freshman year, I could always go home and watch one of Peaugh's or Baltmatrix's reviews. When I went through a Sophomore year so boring I hardly remember it, I could always drum up excitement by popping in ROTF. And my Junior year might have been so great because I was so happy that I finally got to see my heroes onscreen again in DOTM. Even in my Senior year, when I was questioning the man I wanted to be and doing things Freshman me would never do, even when I was wondering if these new friends I made actually liked me, I always could come home to an accepting and kick-ass community here on the boards. I could never make it to Botcon (fingers crossed that I show up soon though!), but me and my dad were able to make it to every Slagacon-which incidentally, happened for only four years, which was every year I was in high school. My face lit up with joy every time I went to one-I didn't have to put on a front like in school just to get by socially. I could always be myself, and discuss my passion with people who loved it as much, and sometimes more, than I do. You guys are so much better than any feigning high school clique I won't even remember come next December. No matter how many times you irk me, I'm glad to be a part of one of the most accepting fanbases ever.

If there was a brofist emoticon, this is where I'd put it.

And I'd tell you to bump it.

 

I almost always take a break from collecting........because most of the time I'm broke.

But yes, it is indeed possible to take a break. Recently alot of figures in the line haven't really screamed "BUY ME NOW" to me.
Excluding the BotCon reveals.

 

Absolutely. With the recent dissatisfaction with most of Hasbro offerings at retail and my shift to MP & 3P my purchasing has decreased significantly. Even though there is so much to choose from in 3P stuff, the recent onslaught of multiples and repaints have put me off buying. Not to mention the non stop cash flow needed to sustain this expensive hobby.

So taking a break is usually for the best and you can always return to collecting with a fresh perspective and more money than before.

All the best for college!

 

yes, and the best way to ween yourself off is with an ROTF lockdown missing his spoiler  

 

Easily, no point in collecting if there isn't anything out that interests you.

Better yet, when something comes out that completely blows away your existing favorities and you make enough selling to upgrade for free.

My current MP line was funded from old CHUG, 3rd party, Alternator, and movie figures. Great way to financially stream line everything and I never have to worry about the ever common storage problems that people discuss here.

 

  You are persistent, I'll give you that XD

 

ajent j 15....take a break....concentrate on college/academics....check in sometimes...

 

Good luck trying to quit.

 

Definitely focus on college and all the growing up you continue to do there. That being said, there's no harm in keeping up to date with what's coming down the pike and picking up one or two here and there as they interest you.

 

It's perfectly possible to take a break from collecting, and come back. I took a year off a year or two back, because nothing was interesting me at the time.

 

just have to re-prioritize it with a new budget.
but yes it is possible.
i collected beast wars...stopped after beast machines,

got heavy into robotech in the early 2000's....

mid to later 2000's sold all the robotech and got transformers going again...

 

I look forward to the day when you feel strong enough within yourself to tell everyone around you that you're coming out of the closet.

And then the looks on their faces when you literally open the closet to get your plastic robits.

Already thinking about budgeting and 'adult' stuff like that is actually a big step in staying in this hobby for the long haul... so while you may have to step back a bit you're probably not gonna leave.

Good luck with college!

 

Oh you can definitely keep collecting, it's entirely up to you though, ultimately.

I just finished my first year of college, and when I was there it pretty much felt like high school in the sense that there was still drama and people still did stupid childish things, except now people were a lot more accepting. Oddly enough, everybody on my floor in my dorm loved my toys. Which made it impossible for me to keep stuff out because everybody touched them without asking  

In any case, just keep on collecting. Don't hide it (don't broadcast it either), and don't be ashamed. My life got a whole lot better once I stopped caring what people thought, and at the same time, people got a lot more accepting because I owned my geeky qualities instead of feeling bad about them. Plus not very many girls view transformers and some dungeons-and-dragons type nerdy thing anymore thanks to the movies boosting popularity. A friend of mine and I watched all three old movies, all the while she was fiddling with MP Prime, and are planning on seeing AOE- at her suggestion. So I think you're fine on that front.

However, if you're staying with a room mate, establish some ground rules. You can fill your room at home with tons of toys, but if your room mate needs access to the room for his own reasons (ie: SEXYTIMES. Trust me, that'll happen if you have an even remotely social room mate), it can be a bit embarrassing for them (and you, if you're the one havin' sexytimes) if there are dozens of pairs of plastic eyes staring across the room. When I went to college, I only brought Generations Kup and Springer with, and kept them both on my desk, out of plain view. Wasn't a problem for my room mate, his lady friends, or my lady friends.

Finally, set a budget for yourself. You probably know this already, but budgeting becomes really big in college. Set aside money for specific purposes. I was lucky and had a meal plan, so I didn't have to budget for food. The rest of my cash was put towards class supplies and money for myself- in that order. I'm not too social of a guy, and I had no way to get off campus aside from a shuttle bus, so outside of transformers, I spent less than twenty bucks on myself from August to May. During the year, I only bought Masterpiece Sideswipe and Cubex Huff, and only after I got my bank account up to certain levels I set for myself. The fact that you have limited money to work with should help you become more selective with what you buy, too. I made the shift to only buying Masterpiece and certain Generations figures.

Also, if your school offers it, go for a note taking job. You literally get paid to go to class and take notes, which you should be doing anyways.

 

I actually started collecting on my first year of college. My friends bought me rotf leader class optimus and the next is history. I went crazy spending on whatever I saw, so I guess that sucked lol. I don't drink or smoke, nor do I party, so the money that would have gone to that went to toys. Actually, I think you shouldn't be afraid to tell people about your passion, sir. Whenever a girl liked me she'd buy me a transformer to get me interested haha  

 

For me,taking a break means is to stop collecting,hence i don't think there will be this break for me.

 

I don't think you can if you have been collecting when you had no money if you go and make money then you will probably spend it.

If you want to do good in college you better keep that social life small most of the people you meet in college you won't even keep in touch with after you graduate.

It's just important to work as much as possible school and job wish someone told me this.

 

Hey agent j 15, really cool post, especially the part about what the community here has meant for you...

As for collecting, I think Ribieconvoy´s advice "don´t hide it but don´t broadcast it either" sums it up pretty good. I´m 32 years old and a proud Transformers collector, at least here at University of Tokyo no one questions it, some find it a bit funny but others just thinks it´s cool. You have to think about the time and money aspects, though, collecting TF´s has been a major distraction as well as disproportionally large expense for me at times...

I like to read how you think you changed during your high school years, I remember it like turning into a whole new person as well during those three years, but with my core and love for Transformers intact, of course  

 

Good luck with college.

Why? I quit collecting a year ago, and I've been doing okay.

 

I take a break every time there's a movie that comes out  

But really... taking a break can make a world of difference.

 

I think people should keep in mind that you can remain a part of this fandom, watch the movies, watch the shows, read the comics... hell just socialise on the boards without buying any toys.

I took a break from everything from the end of school through to the middle of University. In that time I grew up a lot, became far more sociable and as a result more confident. If you're confident in yourself others won't give a crap about whether you collect toys, comics or whatever. But when that's all there is too you it becomes a massive problem in meeting new people.

When I was a student I had one TF in my room to begin with. even that was enough to cause some girls I brought back to be massively put off. Others didn't care. Now as a 32 year old guy I can pretty much get away with having a whole room full of them as there's far mor I can define myself by.

TLDR: Ease off enough to not be embarassed enough when you meet people but don't think you have to quit completely. You still have the rest of your life ahead of you!