By Forest_Snivy
Pokemon is not just for young children, which is highly apparent in serious video game and trading card tournaments; and among serious collectors, where the vast majority of involved persons are well over their young teens, and the few are not are almost required to develop an older level of maturity in order to be able to interact with the rest of their community.
Pokemon tends to be a franchise that sticks with its fans for a lifetime–many view Pokemon as “a way of life.” Because of this, many fans–and specifically, collectors–will come across a dangerous time: entering college. The transition from home life to campus life is already a difficult one; for those attached to their collections, the transition is even more painful.
The decision to take your collection with you, leave it at home, or to sell it to other collectors is certainly no minor one. The pros and cons of each option heavily impacts the future of one’s collecting. For instance…
Leaving your collection at home is fairly safe, but for the majority of four or so years you will have no access to it. The lack of access also causes worry if the collection is being left with people who may not be as caring towards the items.
Bringing your collection with you to your new dorm is a nice choice if you prefer to have your collection close by; however, if you have any number of roommates, you must always keep a close eye on your collectibles lest they become susceptible to theft or damage, purposeful or otherwise.
Selling your collection gives you extra money and your items will be safe in the hands of a fellow collector, but you will never have those items again, even after college, unless you buy them again–but who can guarantee that you will be able to?
Making the decision of what to do with one’s collection will not take a short time for most collectors. Many factors impact which route they choose to take; for example, a person whose college is only two hours away may feel completely secure leaving their entire collection at home, and someone who is living off-campus will not have to worry about the cons of bringing their collection with them. Another person whose college is states away may decide to sell some of their collection, keep some at home, and bring the rest with them. The vast differences in decisions from person to person is a warm reminder of the diversity within the general Pokemon community, but it also serves as a reminder that Pokemon fans need to help each other during times such as these, because not everyone knows exactly what is right for them in such situations.
When choosing what to do with your collection before making the big move into a dorm room, there are a few major factors to consider: are your parents or guardians gentle with your belongings? If you’ve had problems with your parents throwing away your things in the past, leaving a large chunk of your collection at home may not be the best idea. How many roommates will you have, and what are they like? If you know you will have no roommates, there is significantly less risk bringing your collection with you to college, but if you have two other roommates, there is more chance of an accident occurring involving your items. If you get to know your roommates before moving in and you learn that they party more often than study, and enjoy bringing new “friends” into the room, you may not want to bring too many things with you. How big is your collection–and room–anyway? If you have thousands of items in your collection, but a very small dorm room, you may not even be allowed to bring most of it with you. You also don’t want to be flooding your room, because things can get lost and damaged easily that way. What will you be studying during college? Always consider that, as amazing as Pokemon is, college and studying is integral to your future, and you should not get too distracted by your collection during this time. If you know that you are easily distracted by the cuteness or epicness of your collection, it may be best to not bring the majority of it with you to your dorm.
Ultimately, the collector who is going through this time in their life should just calm themselves and take their time figuring out what to do with their collections. Ask for help if the decision does not come, and once a decision is made, go through with it! Entering college is a major time in anyone’s life and each decision is crucial to the unfolding of your future.