Collecting The Expressive Details
- Dan Thomas
- Feb 14, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 3, 2021
What do our collections say about us? What little nuances and aspects of our personality pop out in the things that we buy and in the way we display them? We often tend to express ourselves within our fashion, the haircuts we get, the tattoos we have, the jewelry displayed, and the general colors we choose. And our home is like that, for the environment we provide ourselves is the expression we can observe from the outside. Some of us love to show these aspects of ourselves to others as an additional look into who we are. Some of us have a tendency to be more antisocial, so may not have many people over at our house to display things for others; doing it just for ourselves, as a reminder of how we got here and who we are. I think it’s important to distinguish that it’s not always about owning things in a sense of physical greed, but more so seeing all the different facets and multifaceted aspects of oneself, each one having its own memory and experience. There’s so many different parts of existence and every scar, every laugh, every time we look back and see a growth, change, and an experience worth having, our things are often the a representation of every last drop of lived. For me there wasn’t much that I could have when I was younger. Being homeless, broke, and living in different places for short periods of time, I would always go to school and people would have the different toys that were out, the newest video game system, the outfits that were fashionable, or whatever was new at The time, and I would have my hand me downs and never having the newest thing that was out. So to a degree, now it’s like I am living the life I didn’t have and what’s interesting is seeing all the different things I have collected and earned myself, there’s such a great appreciation for every bump in the road, every struggle, every checkpoint where I learned another aspect of myself, and finding a new shade or angle into the entirety of what and who I am. I have always appreciated color, art, and diversity, not just in aesthetics, but ideas and beliefs as well. Seeing the entirety of life’s tapestry, as opposed to just a little section. I like seeing the corners of the world and the universe on display, finding myself in each shape, size, sound, and color. Me in the universe, and the universe in me. I have always had a really good long-term memory, so the good, as well as the “bad” memories stick out, well-detailed in my mind. All of these things I’ve collected, are a piece and part of that puzzle. For every diversity and variation, a memory and aspect to go with it. I am very grateful and appreciative of where I am now, and who I have become, after overcoming all that I had to, to get here. I am thankful I can see those aspects and be surrounded by them, because underneath all of our hang-ups, issues, and traumas, is a child who wanted love, and to be nothing more than curious and playful, before the world tried to darken the light. To me, they are reminders of where I came from and how I got this far. And I never want to forget what I went through to be at this moment; living each day with joy, creativity, laughter, and gratitude. Being able to appreciate and understand the importance of all of the shades of grey. “You don’t stop playing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop playing.”
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