Why do ponies, and collecting them, make you happy?

[Lightning Twirl]

@ Joey

 No no,  thats not weird-I understand! I feel the same way too, but about Pokemon =) I wasnt allowed to have Pokemon growing up even though it was my favorite thing as a kid! I had a cool electronic Lugia toy my parents eventually found and threw away. I recently bought another one from a friend,  I feel like a huge chunk of my childhood came back to me! I even bought a few card packs from the 90's! =) It was an amazing feeling to have!

[Moonracer]

I collect my ponies pretty much for the same reasons as others have already said before me: because of nostalgia. I really loved My Little Pony when I was a kid and I adored my childhood herd. I always wanted to have more ponies when I was a kid, but I couldn't for different reasons...

So collecting ponies is not only a huge nostalgia trip for me, but it's also fullfilling of my childhood dreams.   

[Luxrayx]

I have no idea
I did have some as a child, but I treated them as any other horse toys.

[Radiance]

As others have said, nostalgia. Plus there is something soothing about the colors, and a G1 is the perfect size to hold in your hand. I love to fiddle around with their manes and tails. It calms me when I'm anxious or stressed!

[doxiechic16]

I agree with the sentiments shared by others.

1. I collected ponies as a child.  I love the sense of nostalgia and the excitement of being able to acquire ponies that I dreamed of owning as a child, but could never find at my local flea markets, thrift stores, etc.   

2. I had been sort of bored/lonely; I felt like all I did was go to work, come home and do housework, go to sleep, and repeat.  I have a wonderful family and great coworkers, but I didn't have very much social interaction beyond that.  Getting back into collecting ponies and joining the Arena has helped me feel like I'm part of a community.  Everyone is SO nice and I love reading about what other pony collectors are doing.   

[Sarah Jo]

I collect them because they were my favorite toy as a kid. I also think they're very cute and the cuteness and bright colors just make me smile !

Plus I'm into cute things in general - stuff like Hello Kitty, Sailor Moon, Pokemon, cats, etc.

[Lucky_Ladybug]

It's like finally making childhood dreams come true for me.

This, totally. I want to get all the Ponies I longed for as a child, but couldn't find/get for various reasons. And then I discover more awesome Ponies and it just snowballs.

Plus, I love to collect things: Ponies, Sonic the Hedgehog, Final Fantasy VII figures, Sailor Moon dolls, plushies, character shirts, videos and DVDs with actors I like.... Few things make me happy the way shopping does. My room looks like the booths at antique malls that are filled with awesome toys and such.

[Galactica]

Because I'm OCD and I love collecting shiney pretty things that make me smile.  It's not exactly healthy so I am constantly trying to purge too and focus on only really special stuff- like difficult to find or customs.  Somehow I have justified in my head that if it is special, rare, expensive, I am NOT hoarding.

The problem is that other stuff starts sneaking in-  like teeny tiny ponies turn into all little ponies, Rainbow Curl ponies turns into all Rainbow themed ponies...  and some toys are just so hard to find now, doesn't that make them special enough to not be categorized as a hoard ? (ie moondreamers or brazil SSC)

But at least the shiny things I love are ponies and dolls, not blood diamonds! (Or vintage cars, in my dad's case...)

[CottonTALE]

I collect ponies now because it brings back memories of my pony that I had growing up. She was a fakie that my great grandmother bought me when I was young, I called her "Strawberry" after my favourite fruit and she reminded me of strawberries because of her colouring. I used to take her with me everywhere I went, she was sort of like my seceurity blanket almost. I didn't have alot of friends growing up because everyone thought I was strange (I was later tested and confirmed to have Aspergers Syndrome, a form of Autism) so she was pretty much my best friend. She was there for me when my parents spilt up and when I had to go to the hospital or stay with someone other than my mom.

Unfortunately, she ended up being thrown out by my father when I accidentally left her at my dad's house on a visit when I was 10. I have been searching for a new one for at least a decade... Since then, I haven't found any trace of her.

I am planning on re-creating her from my memories into a FS G4 in the future, I just need to find a body to work from for it.

[shadowdreamer]

I like collecting toys and ponies because, well I have not really thought of it. Toys have always made me happy,they are simple, and most of them are so pretty. When I was little, I had toys,but I never had very expensive toys that I wish I could have had because I lived in a low income family.So when I started babysitting for money in my younger teenage years...I would buy of course normal teen stuff like makeup,but I was always lead to the toy section. I would get  toys because they made me feel happy and like I was a kid again. Ponies bring back memories of when I was a kid, and from when life was easy so naturally I fell in love. 

[fireglides]

For me, since I enjoy all of the toys from the 80s, I think it's about nostalgia. I also have that collectors personality. And ponies are pretty!

[Stormness_1]

I've always loved mlp. That's just it for me... I collect because I love them and always have!

From the time my bestie and I figured out what a 'real' pony was, (most of ours were thrift finds or hand me downs) we were on the chase. Things really got going in G2, when we almost had all the US G1's between us (missing Seabreeze) and then with g3 we just went crazy. Eventually we grew up and had other things to buy.. She had kids, I got into uni. But I happened to be in a store and came across royal bouquet, who I bought on impulse, and took her home. She floated around our house for 3 years before I relented and opened her. That was it. I was re-hooked. I went to mums and got all my ponies, and brought them home. Hubby (just my bf at the time) was dumbfounded! but he understood, and we went from there. I took a break during our engagement, but after the wedding, I got hardcore... and now my collection of 30-ish childhood ponies has grown to well over 300, and I've overflowed every conceivable storage idea hubby has come up with... looks like he's going to have to give up and get me shelves to display them!

[Rhubarbpie]

I was never into ponies as a child. I was a Sindy girl and loved my baby dollies, doll house (hand made my my late grandfather and late mother) and drawing.

I only got into ponies after watching the FiM series, I enjoyed the positive message the program conveyed. Such a refreshing change from current children's program's.  I was in a shop when I saw some of the ponies for sale and I thought why not? So I bought my first ponies thinking "I'll just get the Mane 6", then I saw the CMC and had to have those, then the rest of the show ponies and the rest followed. After being here for a while, I got into Gen 1 and 3 ponies. I have just watched some of the Gen 1 episodes and they are awesome!!!

I find my collection soothes me after a stressful day at work. I get all excited at the prospect of a new pony delivery. You will never find a happier person than me when I bounce through the front door with a package in my arms 

[Gogobinsin]

Various reasons. When I was younger I was such a tomboy, I would always ask for toy cars and stuff for birthday and Christmas presents. I started to become more girly when I became a teenager and I felt like I'd missed out when I was little by playing with boys toys I also tend to feel really low and down a lot and knowing that I have a pony on its way to me in the post really cheers me up - I love the excitement of buying and receiving them and getting to style their hair when they arrive Plus I just love how simple and innocent they are.

[nollilols]

When I was a child, MLP was my favourite cartoon. But living as I did in the countryside in Ireland, there weren't very many ponies for sale. I did have a Secret Surprise Pony (Secret Star), the Celebrations family (though I only remember one of the babies, so I may have bought one of those at a car boot sale or something, and the only other pony I had was one of the Sweet Talking ponies, the pink one (Chatterbox? Talk A Lot? No idea.) I did like those ponies, but to this day I have the most interest in the characters from the show. I always wanted those. I also remember as a child seeing the advert for the Rollerskate ponies, and wanting Melody so badly because she was my favourite character in the show. Now that I'm an adult, I can buy them. And have them, and just, appreciate them on behalf of my 6 year old self.