How to collect

I am a collector of things, people. The way they take up space and time, it helps to look to different things as collections in order to make the time go by.
When I was a kid, I collected certain characters. Polly Pockets, Beanie Babies, brand name dolls. I felt that with my search and acquisition, I had something to show for myself.  As I grew up, I let go of many things, I thought I no longer loved. Things I thought were childish. In doing so, I think I forgot about collecting. I still have some of these toys, loving compressed between a blanket and a storage bin, or scattered somewhere between my room and the attic hall.
But my search is not the same, I have collections of stickers found from walking across foreign streets. Images of twenty something one hit wonders who croon in a distant tongue, parodies of society, ones with hearts, and curved letters around Valentines' cards. I have clippings from magazines that have inspired me, hand written letters, scraps of my own writing from four years of college, t-shirts from charity events and organizations, books I've found in different corners of the world, Playbills from Broadway shows, and ticket stubs of concerts that changed my life. I look for things that are part of where I am and in doing so I find where I want to go. The laundry list above takes up the contents of my room. I try to empty out the details of my life as I consolidate  and prepare to start out on my own. What is a collection that you cannot keep? What things were you meant to give away?
Please start a collection. Wherever you go it will follow you.