The end of an era...

Every kid needs something to collect. Be it coins, shells, insects, baseball cards, or my little ponies and precious moments, collections are integral to the development of children. Beginning in 6th grade, I collected tickets and programs from every event that I attended. Not wanting to store them away in boxes where I could not appreciate them, I taped them to posterboard and nailed them to my wall. One posterboard turned into seven and quickly became a fixture of my room.

I carefully packed and re-posted my "ticket wall" when I got to college. Four years at Wheaton and 2 in Gary, this wall was clearly dear to my heart. Packing up my "wall" as I left Gary, one friend asked me cynically, "Jordan, isn't it about time you let go of 'the ticket wall'"? Initially hurt by her repeated jabs at my masterpiece, I gradually came to the decision that it was truly time to part with "the wall".

On May 25, 2007, I said my good-byes to the wall and for the first time in 14 years moved without it. Cheers to the "ticket wall", dear collection, entertainment to many, immortalized in my heart.