In 2020 when I was a freshman in high school, I was sitting in my biology class when we got the news that school was going to be canceled for the remainder of the year.

One Wednesday morning a buddy of mine texted me asking if I wanted to go to the flee market with him and I said “sure," as I didn't have anything else going on. When we got to the flea market I was looking around for any cool items as my buddy told me to come with him. We walked a couple rows over and when he stopped I looked around to see a table full of sports cards. I've always loved watching sports as well as playing them so I instantly took an interest in these pieces of cardboard.

As weeks went on and they turned into months I started buying sports cards; boxes, singles, anything I could get my hands on and I quickly found out there was a lot of money in the sports card industry. I met lots of people and some new friends who told me about the national sports card convention which takes place once a year. We talked about this convention and how we wanted to go the next year, as the one in 2023 had just passed.

This year I was able to experience one of the most amazing things of my life. We drove to Cleveland Ohio where the 2024 National was held and stayed in an AirBnB. During the Convention I saw cards that I could not have hoped to see anywhere else in the world. Cards such as the 1952 topps Mickey Mantle, Psa 10 were on display, a 20 million dollar card, and many other cards and memorabilia of similar stature were also there. This trip along with the friends I've made and the collection I have built have made that trip to the flea market a cornerstone in my life as it lead me to find one of my favorite hobbies to this day.