Ever seen someone's room and they have an entire wall filled with things that are basically the exact same but also slightly different? Or maybe they have a stamped penny from every state.

There are dozens of different ways to collect things. They can be big or small. Whether collections in a shadowbox or collections hanging on the wall, I think it's important that you collect something.

I know a ton of people probably think that collecting things is a waste of money or that it will take too long. As for the latter, I think that's kind of the point of collecting. It should take a long time--that's why it's fun.

Especially in the case of getting something from every state, if it doesn't take a long time that means you cheated. I've heard some people boast about their collections of Starbucks mugs with every state printed on them because they found them all online. Really? Yes, congratulations for ordering things online. Must have been hard.

The best thing about collecting something is that it usually holds promise for the future. Depending on what you're collecting, you may be able to go to different shops anywhere you want to pick up a new piece for your collection. For some things, however, you may need to travel a bit.

Personally, I've collected a few different things in my life. When I was really young, I would love going up to my family's cabin. It meant I got to dig through all of the pebbles and stones to find the coolest ones. I had a green Pringles can in which I stored all of my rocks. I remember how I used to cherish that Pringles can.

There was also a short amount of time when I loved to collect little tokens. You know the coins you get when you trade in your money at an arcade? Usually they have the name of the place on them, maybe a date, and then a little cool picture?

Yeah, those. I used to always save one whenever I got them and I put them in my piggy bank. I thought they were so cool and unique I ended up with quite a pile. The coins weren't all from arcades though. I remember one was from an event known as "Cox Farms Fields of Fear"—a Halloween event in Virginia I attended. It was always my favorite.

No matter what you collect, make sure it is something you enjoy. There isn't any point in collecting something you don't care to look for or find. And by no means should you be embarrassed to show off your collection. There is bound to be someone else in the world who finds it as interesting as you do.