This is the second essay I wrote for English 1101. I'll admit, it is a very BORING essay! But, I got a grade of A- on i!.
I suffer from OCD: obsessive-compulsion disorder. OCD is defined as “an anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)” (Myers, 432). Now, I am not the type that washes her hands 72.3 times a day. However, I do have my own obsessions and compulsions. When I was about six years old, I was obsessed with the Leaning Tower of Pisa falling down and the whole world would experience an earthquake. I was terrified of this impending event and needed to be comforted about the tower falling down. Looking back at that now, as an adult, I can see that was ludicrous but it was one of the first signs of suffering from OCD.
The way my CD collection is organized and cataloged in my CD spindle is one current compulsion I have. My CD spindle is separated into four compartments with each compartment housing a defined group. The reason I have my CDs separated in groups is to make it easy to find a CD and place a new CD into the collection. All the groups are alphabetized by artist. With this system, I can take a glance and know which CD is out for listening. If a CD is not in its assigned group and/or slot, I will get obsessed with it being out of place. I will not stop my mission to hunt a missing CD down until the CD is back where it belongs. You can ask my sisters about this compulsion. They have encountered the wrath of Shawn trying to find her missing Exposé album.
The first compartment is the special albums compartment. The CDs located here are my most precious albums, except the Britney Spears albums. If the Titanic were sinking with me as a passenger, the CDs located in this compartment would be abandoning ship with me. It holds the second most albums placed into a compartment, but it holds the fewest number of artists. It contains eight Richard Marx albums, six albums by Amy Grant, ten albums by Celine Dion, five *NSYNC albums, and for lack of room in another compartment, three Britney Spears albums. These CDs might get a few spins on the CD player if I remember to listen to them once in a while.
Spinning the spindle counter-clockwise, the next group is the multiple CD section. For an artist to be in this section, I must have more than one CD by an artist. This is where Billy Joel (an adult contemporary artist) meets 98º (a pop act) meets Incubus (a rock act). I listen to different kinds of music. A total of fifteen acts are housed here. I have two albums by most of the acts in this group. I do have a few acts in this group with three to four albums in my collection. Faith Hill and her four albums are a great example of owning more than two albums by an artist in this section. The only problem with this section is that it holds the maximum number of CDs a section can contain: thirty-six albums.
Continuing counter-clockwise, the next group is the single CD group. I only have one album by every act located here. BBMak (a pop act) meets Euge Groove (a jazz musician) meets Chely Wright (a country singer) here. John Mayer and Michelle Branch, two artists I have been enjoying as of late, can be found in this section. I have a total of twenty-eight acts total stored in this compartment. Whenever my wallet will allow, I’m sure this section will grow, even just to handle the overflow from the multiple CD section.
The final section of the spindle is the part with the least amount of CDs. The CDs in this section all have a similar theme. All the albums are compilation albums. Christmas albums, soundtracks, and samplers - you name it and you will probably find one mixed into this group. Tapestry Revisited (a remake of Carole King’s Tapestry album by various artists) and The Mirror Has Two Faces Soundtrack are just two examples in this group. Only sixteen CDs are housed here. If I choose not to house the multiple albums overflow with the single albums, I might place the overflow with this group. The groups will be separated by empty spaces. I must keep my system in check.
Could I sort these CDs only by alphabetizing the albums by the name of the artist who performs them? Could I categorize the CDs by genre? I probably could sort the CDs that way. Who knows, maybe I’ll find this system flawed one day and change it to a new system I find satisfying. With OCD, one compulsion is that I must have a set order. The order of my CDs spindle: special albums, multiple albums, single albums, and compilation albums, is the one that suites me well for today. It’s easy and makes sense to me. Knowing my CD collection is in this order, I can sleep peacefully at night.
©2002 S.A.L
Works Cited:
Myers, David G. Exploring Psychology. 4th ed. New York: Worth Publishers, 1990
