Before and after

Behold.

This was the first image to ever appear on this blog, over nine months ago.

Little did I know where this one simple picture would take me. My "low-end collector's journey" through the blogosphere has been hard to put into words. Inspirational, thought-provoking, and transforming are just a few that come to mind.

However, my time as a blogger can be neatly trimmed down into one simple word.

Fun.

These last nine months have easily the best of my long collecting career, without a doubt.

I've been introduced to an entirely new perspective on this hobby, one that will probably be more beneficial to my "survival" within it in the years to come.

I just wish I could've found the blogosphere a whole lot sooner.

My collection has undergone a few changes as well.

I've already received a ton of great cardboard from fellow bloggers, whether it be from an agreed-upon trade or one of those "surprise" packages that we all love so much.

The blogosphere has also inspired me to buy some cards that I might have previously passed on at card shows and the like. The most notable being the inductees into my "Cardboard Masterpieces" collection, one that didn't exist before I started this blog.

Tonight, I thought it would be interesting to see how the outward appearance of my collection has changed in these last nine months.

When I snapped the photo for my first-ever blog post, I had 43 different card-filled binders.

Even I'm surprised at how much has changed since then.

Nowadays, my collection consists of 55 binders.

I've had to split a few of my team binders into halves since then. Heck, my Angels, Cubs, and Yankees collections consist of three different binders at the moment.

I like to keep my early oversized vintage on my bookshelf as well, a few of which you can see on the top half of the second bookshelf. Those have almost doubled during my time as a blogger, although that might have more to do with my dad's generous "grants" at the last few card shows we've attended.

It really is amazing to compare my pre-blog and post-blog collections. It's come a long ways since that first post back in December.

Sometimes, I stop and think about where my collection would be had I not decided to start writing. More than that, I stop and think about where I'd be.

It's held many surprises.

The blogosphere has managed to drop every single one of my pretensions about the almighty "book value". The only type of value I live by is "personal value".

As I've learned, that's the only guide you need.

But, most of all, it's managed to turn what I thought was a perfect hobby into an even better one.

Ever since I started this blog, I've been able to share my love for cardboard with other members who are just as passionate about it, and vice versa.

That's a special thing.

I can't wait to see what other surprises the blogosphere has in store for me.