I believe that we should be doing things with a set intention. To be specific, intentionality should be in place before we do anything. It should also be coupled with self-awareness and self-assessment.

I remember when Pop Mart was a line of borderline art toys and not just a trend of conspicuous consumption. I’ve bought some of them. I would look for a set where I wouldn't mind getting whatever, that any of the items were a balance of cost and aesthetic in my growing toy collection. However, I wouldn’t buy the same set every time I went to the comic book store (our comic book shop sold Pop Mart). I would instead look for the next collection that I liked and get one from them. So far, I liked all my Pop Mart collections until I stopped buying them, and I never got the same design twice.

There was a time when my boyfriend wanted to get a Batman from a set of DC superheroes blind boxes. He was thinking for a long time, for he was a very indecisive person. I was already done rummaging around the entire comics and graphic novel on display and he still wasn't done choosing between which of the boxes in the set he would buy. He's more experienced with blind boxes since he started his collection long ago with Lego Mini Figs. I began with Pop Mart during the pandemic. It was taking him too long to decide so I helped him out. What I told him was something that I think every other Labubu. Sonny Angel, Hirono, or Smiski blind box collector should hear:

“You should probably buy from the set you won't mind getting what you don’t want because if you come in wanting to get something specific, the chance of you getting that one would be as far away from you as possible.”

This is gambling. If you don't catch yourself or have the moment of self-reflection to see how much money you’re spending on them just so you get a specific one, you're in for a wrong turn. To know why you like it, to know what you want from it, that is where you establish your boundaries.

I've been successful in decreasing my screen time lately. I went from 8 hours a day to 1 hour and 30 minutes. I did that by intentionally leaving my phone alone most of the time, building activities and better work habits away from the device, and using my laptop instead as a primary device. Sure, I scroll in the morning and the evening but I would easily get bored looking at it. This results in me having a measly social media presence now and I don't regret it. Because of that, I've been writing on Substack weekly, consistently working on my art, having a short story in the background, and even doing weekly vlogs. All of that is because I intentionally use and do not use my phone for specific functions.

We need to come into things with intention. What am I doing this for? What will I get out of this? How many strikes until it's out? What are my deal breakers? We need to do that because the journey is long, and we will be tired, our self-discipline and critical thinking will get worn down, and we will hate ourselves in the end. Intentionality will be the rope we will grab hold of to ground us back.

I stopped buying Pop Mart when it stopped being an art toy. I lowered my screen time by improving my offline activities. I disengaged from social media when the algorithm was thinking for me. Intention is your lifebuoy. It's your lifeline to sanity.

When you get lost, intentionality will lead you back to your goal.

6/2/2025