On 1 week, 3 separate people told me they had got me pins... I didn't ask any of them to - I don't think.
I will keep this one short. In case you don't already know... I collect pins. The idea was to just get one from every place I visit but then it expanded to asking others to bring me back one if they were going on a trip to save them brining me back a dead keyring. Someone told me I needed a hobby. But actually this whole pin thing has become much more than a hobby. I only started "collecting" pins because I was sick and tired of getting countless keyring souvenirs and never knowing what to buy to bring back home when I visit somewhere new. It was merely meant to be a personal thing, but ever since I started posting about my collection on Instagram it's garnered a lot of interest - surprisingly.
It's become so much more than a one man endeavour, now I have people saying they got me a pin of their own volition. Don't get me wrong, I often do ask people to buy me pins but more often than not I don't. And do you know how nice it is when someone returns from a trip and they tell me they got me a pin. I still remember the first time it happened, I remember what the pin was, who got it for me and where the exchange happened. Because to me of course it's not just about a pin. As some of you may know, pins aren't as widely available as magnets and keyrings, sometimes you gotta search. So this makes the gesture all the more special. But it's just nice to know that whilst someone was on holiday they were thinking about you.
So now I have a board of all the collected pins, and its not just a board of pins, it's representative of relationships I have with people and now a piece of them will always live on my wall - as cheesy as that sounds. And I just want to take this opportunity to thank anyone that has got me a pin or even anyone that looked for a pin for me but weren't able to find one. I appreciate it dearly, and if I've ever asked you to get me a pin always know that me asking is more than me just wanting a pin - it's actually a show of respect and love, an attempt to actualise our relationship in pin form hehe.