Guest Author - Lin

You've picked up your mail as you come home, thrown it on the table, and eaten supper. Eventually, you start leafing through it and, much to your surprise, there's an interesting stamp on one of the envelopes. It's not the usual Flag or Antique truck stamp that everyone else seems to be using.
Instead, it is a black and white stamp that looks like a piece of film, and in it is a drawing of Walt Disney. Hmm, you think, I've never seen a stamp like that before. You carefully tear the stamp off the envelope, leaving a rim of paper around it, and put it aside, meaning to find out more about it.
And forget.

A few weeks later, you find the stamp on the floor and realize you had wanted to find out about the stamp. You check the Internet and discover that it's one of a set of 10 issued by the United States Postal Service honoring developments in filmmaking, a subject that had always intrigued you. You find out that your local post office might still have a set of the stamps and, a few days later, you own them.

You start thinking, "Wonder if there are any more stamps on filmmaking out there?" You go back on the Internet and find out that a group called the American Topical Association has a checklist of stamps having to do with film. You find other collectors who are interested in the topic and, best of all, there are lots of stamp dealers out there who just might have stamps to sell. You find a dealer, place an order, and you're on your way.

Like many other collectors, you've entered the always fascinating hobby of stamp collecting-find a stamp on an envelope that interests you, seek out information either via the Internet or the library, and start searching for more stamps that fit your interest. Stamp collecting is a hobby that can lead to explorations in a myriad of topics from the arts to history to science and technology, and so on. It's a hobby for the lively mind-for the person who is curious about the world and its peoples-for the person who's excited about everything.

I have been a stamp collector for over 30 years and have found my knowledge of the world to have been fantastically enhanced by studying colorful little bits of paper. If nothing else, it's helped me to get the right answers much of the time when watching Jeopardy! It relieves stress and promotes intellectual curiosity. I can't imagine life without stamp collecting and the entertainment and knowledge that I've gained over the years.

Through BellaOnline's stamp collecting website, I hope to introduce newbies and seasoned collectors to the joy one can gain through the hobby I still consider my first love. I will point you to interesting websites, provide information on basic knowledge that is useful for new and experienced collectors, provide some insight on some of the controversies of the day that are being covered in the stamp press, and perhaps provide some fun through contests and games. Eventually I'd like to include a section where members can trade stamps with each other. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all and to sharing my love of stamp collecting with you.