The Unintentional Collection I’ve Amassed (and What it Says About Me)




The Unintentional Collections We Keep (and What They Say About Us)


Confessions of a Refrigerator Magnet Enthusiast

The other day, I caught myself staring at my refrigerator, a strange mix of pride and bewilderment washing over me. No, it wasn’t the questionable leftovers that had caught my eye (though, there were a few of those too). It was the sheer volume of magnets clinging to the stainless steel door, each one a tiny souvenir from a trip, a concert, or a particularly memorable takeout order.

unintentional collector. My “collection” isn’t curated, valuable, or even remotely organized. It’s a chaotic tapestry of randomness that, upon closer inspection, reveals a lot about my personality (and perhaps my inability to throw anything away).

Exhibit A: My Magnet Menagerie and the Stories They Tell

The magnets, oh, the magnets! They’re a veritable travelogue of my life. There’s the slightly faded Eiffel Tower from my backpacking days, the miniature gondola from a romantic Venice getaway, and a whole flock of penguins from that time I swore I’d embrace the cold and move to Antarctica (spoiler alert: I didn’t). Each magnet holds a memory, a story, a fleeting moment frozen in time (and held captive by cheap plastic).

But it’s not just travel souvenirs. My fridge is also adorned with magnets from local breweries, quirky art exhibitions, and even a few political campaigns (don’t worry, I’ve removed the outdated ones… mostly).

What does this say about me? Well, I like to think it paints me as a cultured, well-traveled individual with eclectic tastes. Or maybe I’m just terrible at saying no to free souvenirs.

Exhibit B: The Book Nook – A Collection of Unread Aspirations?

My unintentional collecting isn’t limited to magnets. My bookshelf is another testament to my “gatherer” tendencies. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good book. But nestled between the well-thumbed favorites and literary classics lies a genre I like to call “Books I Bought with Good Intentions but Never Actually Read.”