So yesterday at my new summer gig where I help run a theatre program for about 25~30 4-6 year olds, we were out letting the kids have a break on the playground. It’s a hot day so most of my team was resting under the trees and I see a couple of kids pull out their Pokemon cards from their pockets and begin looking through them as they talked.
I peered over and saw instantly that the cards were in rough condition. Rares and uncommons alike had bent and worn edges, one kid looked like he had run his Lucario through the washer once or twice.
All of them sleeveless and they were putting them down on the dirt to talk about trades.
My instantaneous reaction was to cringe. HARD.
Until I remembered my own childhood experiences.
Some of my own cards were in rough condition. Scratches, dents, bent corners, you name it. I remember I used to keep my favorite cards in my pocket with a rubber band before I got my first binder and sleeves.
One kid was a bit older and he offered his Uncommon and beat up Ultra Ball Trainer card to the younger kid in exchange for his Rainbow Palkia GX. The little guy said something to the effect of, “I like pokemon balls but my brother said I shouldn’t trade this card unless he sees it.”
The older kid kept trying to ask him why he just doesn’t trade it if he likes the trade until the little guy called his older brother and showed him the trade.
And like a champ, this kid, couldn’t have been more than 6 years old, turns to the other kid and says, “Are you playing a joke?”
And the three of them started talking about why Diamonds were less rare than Stars and it reminded me of my first interaction with Pokemon cards and thinking Diamonds were more rare for some reason. XD
We talk so much about condition, centering, and pristine cards, we often forget the simpler times when card collecting used to mean that we just collected the things we liked because they looked cool, or they had a nice name, or maybe they were our favorite Pokemon.
I don’t look at my Original 5 as much as I used to, instead often looking over my binder collection and thinking about organizing them differently now that I have a few more cards. But if it ever came down to it, I would get rid of my entire binder before I ever thought of selling off my original beat up cards. Those mean the most because they really hold a lot of personal value.
It made me smile to see that kids nowadays still have an appreciation for things like that, that condition isn’t necessarily the point, just the aspect of collecting is often enough for them. Even if it means getting a card they like in exchange for something that’s worth, technically, a lot more.
I don’t know what my point is exactly, but it just made me appreciate my collection a lot more. 
Thanks for listening!
