I was waiting for some sort of "milestone" before I actually wrote this article. At the time, I had 29 wristbands, so I figured I'd write this when I hit 30. And I did. At the time I typed these words, I reached my 30th wristband yesterday. So, to commentate, I'd like to tell any of you who either care or are interested enough to read my articles why I collect wristbands on my left arm.

So, here it goes.

It started in April of 2013, when I was a Freshman in High School. I went to a Youth Convention held in Syracuse, New York, along with my church youth group. Think of it like... a youth group on steroids. A lot of steroids. It's great. Churches from all around the state take their youth groups for three days of seeking God in a convention-esque setting. As a sort of "mark" for our entry, and as proof of attendees, they gave every single attendee a green wristband. I, as needed, took one. So, on my right arm, I had a green wristband, and it started from there. Initially I wore the band as a way for me to remember the convention, since that convention is when I decided to rededicate my life to Jesus. I decided to do so with any subsequent conventions.

Fast forward several weeks, or months, I don't remember. A friend of mine, Abner, had already begun to collect dozens and dozens of wristbands on his right arm too. He was already at the 30's at this point. He collected them, just to collect them. He would tell me of how in his old high school, he would easily tell his friends and random people about Jesus. He did it really easily, so much so that he told me one story how one day at lunch when he was speaking to people, some people within the group would start talking, and other people within the group would tell those making the noise to be quiet, since they wanted to hear what Abner had to say.

Fast forward to Sophomore year of High School. At this point, my insecurity and sense of inferiority had begun to develop, since I would compare myself to my friends a lot, since most of my friends took AP classes, and I didn't, and the classes that they took when they were Freshman (say, Geometry), I was taking then, and I was in the classes with most of the Freshman who would then go on to take the same AP classes. So all in all, I was comparing myself to a lot of people and I felt inferior to a lot of my friends. So, when Abner told me how easy it was for him to tell others about Jesus in his school, I decided I should do it too; since our goal is to tell others about Jesus.

So, I gave it a try. One day during my lunch period, I spoke and basically evangelized to two of my friends. To make things short, it didn't go so well. Both of them didn't really care. Not in a mean way, but when I finished they were simply like "Alright." They brushed it off, basically.

And I was humiliated.

I felt like an idiot. I felt like a failure. And the fact that Abner would do it so easily did not help me. I wanted it to be easy like it was for him. I wanted to do it like him.

Eventually, I wanted to be like him. Which, looking back now, is a mistake, since I am not here to compare myself to other Christians. I am supposed to compare myself to Christ, and realize how unrighteousness I am compared to Him, but in doing so, I can be more aware of how much I need Him to work in me so that I eventually am like Him.

But I didn't want to hear that.

So, I looked for ways to do things like him. At the time, my wristband collection was but a mere handful, while Abner was nearing 40. So, I figured I'd start collecting wristbands like he did. I rationalized, Maybe if I do something he does I'll be just like him.

I realize now that my desire to collect wristbands was purely out of my feeling of inferiority, and not to "work harder" so that I could be more courageous when I spoke to others about Jesus. I just didn't want to feel like a failure.

Months later, I grew out of this insecurity and self comparison to Abner. However, at this point I had around 10 wristbands, so I decided to keep collecting them. One, to remember the events I got them at and symbolize my support for any cause that was displayed on them and two, as a way to stand out.

Ever since high school, I have always disliked being conventional. Being myself, being different, being unique, is something I have always sought after and desired - which is stupidly ironic how I easily compare myself to others. An example of my desire to be unconventional is my name: My name is very uncommon, and I take a lot of pride in that.

So, for the rest of high school, I would collect wristbands, almost fanatically. Any time I would see the opportunity to get one, I would take it. I wanted to collect them. I didn't want them to be like Abner or even beat him at his own game. I just wanted to be myself and different.

Because let's be honest, who else do you know that wears 30 wristbands on their left arm?

Funny side story: The wristbands were originally on my right arm. However, at the end of Junior year of high school, in July, I switched them over to my left arm. For two reasons. One, I'm right-handed, so having them on my non-dominant arm would make things a bit less annoying, since the wristbands would irritate me a bit whenever I would write or do something. Two, because I thought of them like a shield. Let me explain. When I was a child, and sometimes to this day, I would like to imitate any sort of fictional character I liked, particularly video game characters. So, sometimes I would even imagine myself as a video game character, holding a sword in my right hand, and a shield (the bands) in my left. So I switched them over.

Nowadays, I still like to collect wristbands to stand out and support the causes. Though, they have had some rather funny results on me.

Putting on long sleeve shirts is a slight hassle, since the shirt and fabric can get caught on the bands. Whenever I wash my hands, I always push them back a bit. I have a tan on my left wrist because of them. I often catch people staring at them because when I speak to them, I can see their eyes quickly glance to my lower left. When it gets really hot I sweat under them.

That's to name a few. Oh, and to continue, here are some answers to some possible questions you may have.

No, I don't take them off. Ever. I sleep and shower with them on. I only take them off when I need to.

No, they don't hurt me. My arm is fine and I don't lose blood circulation.

No, I don't plan on taking them off, and I do plan to keep collecting, until they do begin to affect my arm, or until my future partner demands I take them off, or I get a job that requires me to take them off, or they do begin to affect my health.

But all in all, I love my wristbands. When I don't have them on, a part of me feels gone, since they are essentially a part of who I am. Sometimes they are a part of my identity. One time, early first semester, my roommate was talking to some people, and he mentioned (by name) that I was his roommate. The people didn't recognize my name. Then he told them, "He's the guy with all of the wristbands on his arm", and they immediately knew it was me, since they had seen me around campus before.

Additionally, I've developed this weird hand motion where I shake my arm, as if trying to get something off. I do it to "reorganize" the bands when they begin to lay on top of each other, or are arranged in ways that make my arm uncomfortable.

In my 4 years of collecting, I have only lost around 5. 3 snapped, and 2 I took off because I just didn't want to wear them anymore.

Also, whenever I see people with several wristbands on their arms, I always approach and jokingly say, "Yo, do you want to be me?", and then show my collection, because I feel a bit challenged.