I answer this in the (shameless plug) E4 podcast we did at the Hartford Collector’s Event, which you can find here: www.elitefourum.com/t/e4-pokemon-podcast-at-the-hartford-collectors-event/23292/1
But to answer a little more in depth, I collected as a kid, I honestly can remember back to elementary school (1st-2nd grade) when I had a Neo Genesis Chikorita which I thought was the coolest thing ever. My friends would have all the cool cards, I can still remember the first time I saw a base set holo Zapdos. I’d have a few cards here and there, but nothing really resembling a collection until maybe 4th grade when the EX series was out. I built up my collection mostly through trades, some packs here and there but I never pulled an ex card. Most of my cards were also in crap condition, I had a ridiculously creased Blissey ex from Unseen Forces but I still thought it was super cool because it had 160 HP. The bulk of my ex cards came after I traded someone on the school bus for a Latias gold star. We both had no idea what it was but my one of my friends did, and offered me I something like three ex cards for it which blew my young mind. Eventually I got less into it, interest faded as it does and I sold my collection off on craigslist.
Fast forward to high school, I’ve started working a part-time job after school to make some money, I’m browsing Amazon for stuff and see that I can buy the same ex cards I’d idolized as a kid for $5-10. With several hundred bucks in my bank account and zero other financial responsibilities, I was able to buy pretty much all of the old cards I had, and some that I had only dreamed of like gold stars and base set holos. It took of from there as I found youtube opening videos, familiarized myself more with the hobby, and kept working to make more money. Eventually I got into PSA grading, which felt much more like the next step that I’d want to take in the hobby, something to differentiate myself from other collectors and to progress from where I was as a kid. And since then I’ve been slowly progressing, refining collection goals, getting more involved with the hobby, and working to finish off what I could have only dreamed of!