Ciao paisanos! Whew, I'm back, after a long offline hiatus. Sorry for the wait! Why was I gone? Well, I graduated in Italian Studies a few years ago and then taught abroad in Italy. (My love for Mario has always inherently stemmed from the character himself, so I'm not sure whether I love Italian because of Mario or vice-versa). I also learned how to use online proxies a few years ago for bidding for Mario items on Yahoo Japan Auctions, making my collection grow by leaps and bounds. I have gotten to the point where I have stacks and stacks of boxes in my room, totaling over 20, teeming with Mario, which rivals even the most mega Mario collectors. I've filled up full rooms and closets, and sorting everything has taken days (no collector talks about the onus of sorting!). ...And the more Mario stuff I acquired, the less attachment I paradoxically felt for the character. I felt like collecting itself had consumed my time more than enjoying the items I had already collected. Many Mario games sat lonely in a corner as I spent dozens of hours trying to find extreme Mario rarities, always gazing over the horizon rather than glancing right in front of me. Some of my acquisitions were justified, and my collection has grown exponentially, but I began to feel "stuffocated" and lost my focus as to why I chose to collect Mario in the first place. I am a Mario media collector; thus, I collect all media that Mario appears in, which primarily encompasses games, books, films, and music. (And even then, I still have to decide whether to collect all foreign language strategy guides.) But until recently, I had begun just collecting ANYTHING Mario that looked interesting to me (and everything is interesting!), which led to tons of merchandise that I did not have the space or gold coins for. I think the problem is that, when I communicated with other Mario super-collectors, I felt the competitive need to amass more than them. But I do not share their goals: I do not intend to collect everything Super Mario as that is literally impossible. I aim to collect all media, which is already a massive commitment that I have already almost completely fulfilled.
So where do we go from here? Have I stopped being a Mario fan? Of course not! Far from it, paisanos. I have gotten back in touch with why I love Mario in the first place, that plucky plumber who stands for fun, innocence, bravery, and universality. However, after much deliberation, I have decided to sell large portions of my collection. It's not that I have too much Mario stuff but that I have too much stuff that just happens to be Mario. I don't want my possessions to possess me; I plan to do immense things in my life so I cannot let material things weigh me down. Further, selling merch and the extra stuff has made it clear to me what matters most in my collection. I will not be selling all Mario merch, but just the items I can spare to live without. I do not at all regret collecting so much Mario either, but I have to be more conservative with my space, time, and money. It's time to turn over a new Super Leaf! Moving forward, I plan to keep my focus on Mario media exclusively (with the occasional exception ^_~).
If you are interested in cashing in on my cache after it goes live, you can find me on eBay at https://www.ebay.com/usr/italianaman
Ciao for now!
