Feeling terrible about my ponies and don't know what to do

[invaderhorizongreen]

aww it is ok to feel the way you do, I personally wish I had someone I could show my ponies to but I am the only pony crazy person in town. I am gonna try and get a  storage bin for some play sets though.

[HoustonCollector72]

aww it is ok to feel the way you do, I personally wish I had someone I could show my ponies to but I am the only pony crazy person in town. I am gonna try and get a  storage bin for some play sets though.

I doubt you are the only person
but do what feels right for you ,I think one must be assertive of what we like, is who we are, and what makes you unique, I started collecting last july and I'm a guy so I know how you must feel,but you need to realize that this is for you and people who care for you will be happy to see you enjoying something and even see you in a positive different way and not in a negative light as you seem to believe.
And we do not need to please the world, just show the world the real you I get all types of reactions,friends and relatives, some want to know why ,some like it, some don't,same with family at the end what matters is that I like it and that I enjoy it

[keikokukien]

I've had to ask myself many times why I collect the things I do, and every single time I come back with one answer: "for myself." If you let others tell you what to do or determine why you do the things you do, then you have to say goodbye to things that make -you- happy. Even the best of friends and family try to impose their views on you--and that's fine, to an extent. They are entitled their own opinions. But they should know that their opinions on matters such as collections and hobbies that are healthy aren't going to change the fact that you enjoy it and it brings you happiness. In this day and age, people should start getting over trying to make everyone fit a general mold when everyone has different tastes.

People collect figurines and dolls. Some collect trading cards, magazines, baseballs, and coins. Some even collect rocks. (I don't get it, but hey! It's what they like, so it's their thing. ^ ^) What makes collecting ponies different?

[scarletjul]

I think it's perfectly normal to be occasionally embarassed because you collect toys - I collect MLP, Sylvanians and Disney, and Barbie (and I could go on) and sometimes - as much as I love my collection - I feel a little silly, like I'm not being grown up enough or something.  But in the end, I like my collection and I'm not hurting anyone so I keep what I like - though I periodically go through my collections.

I think it's a really good idea to maybe just display sone of your collection - that's what I do with my g3s.  And then you can just highlight parts of your collection without overwhelming the pace. 

[josiekat]

More "grown-ups" would be better people if they kept some of the child in them. There is nothing wrong with surrounding yourself with things you like. Life is tough, why not have things around you that you can escape into every now and then? You could put some into storage and leave some out on display. Then you could change your display every so often. That's what I did when I had less display space. Ultimately, whether they go or not is up to you. But decide for you. Not because you're worried about what friends might say, or if you should fill the space with more grown up things because you think that's what people expect.

[MimiTheMuse]

Uhhhh...I don't know what to tell you, to be honest. Even after I put away my childhood toys in my early teens, I still collected at LEAST one toy line at a time (Beanie Babies, Pooh plushies from the Disney Store, etc.) so by the time I got into serious collecting of ponies in 2003...there had yet to be a time in my life where my bedroom didn't have a couple shelves of a toy collection. When I started back up with ponies in 03, at the start of G3, I just completely gave up any sense of moderation. I gave myself an allowance so collecting never dipped into savings or "life" money and I went for it.

Now, I am a well adjusted and mature 30 year old woman who has a bedroom *and* craft room full of dolls, ponies and vintage toys. Do I have shame? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Collecting toys makes me very happy and as far as hobbies go, it's not destructive or obscenely expensive. AND it's creative, which is why I love it so much. Plus, there is something to be said about being at a place in your life where you can want to do a happy dance over a $5 pony. Most people can't do that...and that's why I think I'm a lot happier than most people.

On a serious note, I have never had a boyfriend, relative, or friend that thought it was weird or unhealthy. If anything, most of the people in my life love that I collect because it makes Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary/Holidays so much easier for them!

[Vulpy]

*Hug* Don't feel embarassed. Feel proud for being who you are. If you like Ponies, continue to like and collect Ponies. ^^ I plan to collect them for the rest of my life. When people visit the house I ask my parents "Did they see my Pony collection?" because I want people to see it and comment on it.

[Fräulein_Kim]

I can relate! I'm not embarrassed at all by my collections and pretty open about it. It's even listed in my CV that I 'collect vintage/current/designer toys'. Then again I am a (toy) designer and illustrator by profession, so it's even expected that I do.
But because of that I have a LOT of collected, customized and self-made toys. For a while, I used to have most of them out on shelves but after a while I felt that they were.. 'suffocating' me in a way. They were too many, shelves too crowded and hard to keep clean and organized. But feeling that way did not mean that I would not LOVE them anymore. I just could not stand to look at them every day. LOL xD;

So what I did was a mix of selling some that I didn't feel as attached too, and putting lots of them in bins and pretty boxes to store out of sight. A few special ones will always be out tho, and are rotated every couple of weeks when I have to clean up the dust.
And it's always the highlight of the day to go through all my bins and boxes and decide which toys to put up next!! I love it and feel like I can finally enjoy my toys again. ...distance makes the heart grow fonder after all. xD;

So it does not necessarily have to mean you need to get rid off them now. You even said that you didn't know which to sell.. That's a sign hat you still like them. But maybe you're the same as me and just cannot stand looking at huge amounts of toys when waking up every day even tho you like all of them. xD
That you're having such a rough time right now might also come into play.. I also always felt that the crowded toy shelves were the worst when I was in over my head and had so much stuff going on.. Looking at the messy shelves made it worse. :C

[Galactica]

I can relate- particularly if it is a multi-use room.  If you were worried you could put out your favorites and store the rest- I do that sometimes anyway to keep things fresh. 

I actually have my entire craft room (aka the doll room) filled with plushies, ponies, dolls and fanart- with the center of the room dominated by a big craft table covered in doll parts/wigs/art supplies/sewing machine. 

I love looking at the rows of bright faces (ponies and assorted dolls) but once my partner took some of our (her) friends up there once to show them - I was pretty embarrassed... I felt like she was showing off the spectacle/weirdness of it- and have forbid her from doing that again.  On the other hand I love taking my art/doll/pony friends up there (unless it is too cluttered), because they definitely get why this stuff is so fun to collect/look at-    

[appleponygal]

Maybe it's 'cos you lack space? I can get that totally. Alot of my ponies are packed away so you coudl perhaps have few out and put the rest away. 

[Beth3346]

I know I've gone through phases with my collecting. when i first started collecting a couple of years ago I was going through a rough time and ponies reminded me of a better time. I thought that when things got better I would eventually get tired of it and sell my collection.

I'm not really embarrassed of them but I don't really show them off to people. I kind of like that its just my thing.

I've had times when my collection has grown a little too large and I have sold off parts of my collection and it always made me a little sad. Now i still have a relatively large collection (around 200) in my home office. they always make me smile whenever i look at them. I don't plan on selling more any time soon.

If collecting makes you happy then that's all that matters. Plenty of adults collect all kinds of stuff.

If your collection is getting overwhelming maybe leave your favorites out and pack the rest away. if you start to miss the others then you will definitely know how you feel about your collection.

[DazzleKitty]

I am 25 years old and I live at home with my parents. My bedroom looks like a toy store. And you know what? I'm proud of it! Do you feel happiness from your ponies? That's all that matters. A true friend won't make you feel bad about your collection and would support it.

I find that people who tend to snub at toy collectors simply are very shallow and uninteresting people. Things shouldn't be put into categories as to what kids and how adults should spend their leisure time. There are MANY toy collectors out there, whether people like it or not.

If you live life to please others you will have a hard time finding happiness and and it will be hard to be happy with yourself.

[ValhallaLilly]

I struggle with this a lot actually too. I always really liked McDonald's toys  and my aunt and uncle thought it was ridiculous and basically told me that I was immature and that's why I was never asked out. yeah...
And I just literally realized that she collected Barbies.  but that was somehow okay?
Like many others my room looks like a toy store, and I guess there is just a feeling that the older one gets then they should get rid of toys and have grown up things. who knows what those are though.
Sometimes it bothers me...mainly when my insecurities voiced by my relatives come up.  Like I worry about bringing friends home .  But really I like the colors I like the  memories, adult stuff is boring!

Also someone mentioned feeling insulted that so many were feeling bad about their ponies. I don't think the people who feel that way feel that about others though.

[Sunshine]

I really loved reading through this thread! Such an interesting topic...

Personally, for me - it's gotten to the point in my collection where it's pretty obvious how serious of a collector I am, and it's no more 'embarassing' than collecting stamps or coins (less so, in my opinion, because ponies are CUTE!)... but I can kind of understand where you're coming from. I, as a 28 year old, living in my own house, with no children (but a ton of pets, and I run my property as a farm, even though we're very small) have just embraced the pony collecting aspect of my life - and even my friends have, and it's paid off to be proud! People go out and see pony things and think of me, and sometimes if they're cheap enough (like at Goodwill or whatever), they'll buy them for me! Or they'll post to me funny pictures with ponies or pony-related stuff online - so it's really been a way to, almost GROW my love of ponies - by just embracing the 'embarassing' aspect of it.

Yes, I go to Walmart - yes I walk out with carts of ponies sometimes (for myself!) and sometimes people ask  me, and I look them dead in the eye and say, "No, they're all for me."


The most grown up thing about collecting sometimes is that you're keeping part of your childhood but moving on as a person... it's like the best of both worlds. Now I don't sit down and 'play' with my ponies, they don't have adventures like they used to when I was a kid - but I do spend a lot of time around my ponies, cleaning them, styling them, restoring them - and now, finally, maybe displaying them...

Anyway I don't think you should ever be embarassed - you have a HUGE online community who also collects ponies, a hit show, merchadise everywhere - if nothing else, it's pretty 'manestream' (Oh yes, I went there) to collect the G4 ponies right now - and rather 'cool' if you will. So don't feel embarassed! Embrace it! We all have weird quirks - so, maybe collecting ponies is one of yours (like it is mine!) I hope you decide to keep your collection displayed. As a person who has a huge collection and NO ROOM at all to display them, I envy those who can show their ponies off - so BE PROUD! And know that there are people out there who'd love to have 5 shelves just for ponies in their room!

[moonflower]

I'm 32, married and have a 1 year old son. There are times when I feel a bit guilty and think perhaps I should be spending my spare cash on more 'useful' things, but then I love collecting and my collection makes me feel happy! Unfortunately, it is not something that I can shout about to everyone for I am an an introvert and fear being judged. A select few know, but I generally keep it secret.

I don't have space to show off my collection yet, but we are hoping to move next year and if we do I will have a pony room! Then I can proudly show my collection to a certain few, but keep it locked away from most (like Christian Grey used to do, lol!).

They are not true friends if they can't handle your collection but as the room is half nursery, do you think your friends would question it?

Please do not "grow up" - that is so boring! Why stop doing something you enjoy because of others?
"We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing!"